2018 Cliff Lede Poetry Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap Wine Cellars
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Tasting notes
The flagship from this great estate is the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Poetry, which checks in as 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and the balance Cabernet Franc. Impressive cassis and blueberry fruits as well as notes of graphite, cedar pencil, bouquet garni, tobacco, iron, and spring flowers all define the bouquet. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it shows the tighter, more elegant, seamless style of the 2018 vintage yet packs beautiful mid-palate concentration, nicely integrated acidity, and a great finish. It doesn't possess the same sexiness or sweet tannins found in the 2015 and 2016, but it’s pure class. Do your best to give bottles 3-5 years in the cellar and enjoy over the following 30 years or more.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Poetry is sourced from Cliff Lede's best hillside blocks. It is one of the very best wines I have ever tasted here. Inky dark fruit, bittersweet chocolate, spice, new leather, licorice and new French oak are all beautifully woven together. The Poetry is rich and unctuous to the core. More importantly, the extraction here is spot on, so that the fruit takes center stage without the edginess of oak tannin that sometimes penalized these wines in the past. In a word: brilliant! (AG)
Composed of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Poetry prances out of the glass with impressively flamboyant scents of blackberry compote, blueberry preserves, blackcurrant pastilles and candied violets, giving way to nuances of dried roses, menthol, powdered cinnamon and aniseed with a waft of cedar chest. Full-bodied, the palate is impactful yet maintains compelling restraint, featuring layers of crunchy black fruits, exotic spices and floral hints, framed by firm, exquisitely ripe tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. This is one of those beguiling 2018 Napa Cabernets that is simply going to blow you away!