Bach to Bacchus: Cliff Lede Vineyards

"This is as about as good as it gets." Such were my thoughts after our wonderful and highly informative two hour tour and tasting at Cliff Lede Vineyards which included visiting the art gallery, vineyard, and winery production area, finally culminating in a fantastic wine and food pairing. Much thanks to our very interesting and enthusiastic host, Tom Roseler, who provided one of the finest and most educational winery tours we have experienced in over 40 years of winery tastings at hundreds of wineries. Other staff at the winery were also extremely pleasant and professional. Although Cliff Lede wines are great by themselves, we recommend that you schedule to take the full tour because it is such an exceptional experience.

Cliff Lede grounds

Cliff Lede Vineyards has lovely views, interesting architecture, pleasant courtyards, an amazing state of the art wine production area, and an art gallery with rotating exhibits. The vineyard and wine production tour is amazing; the wines are outstanding; and the food and wine pairing with the educational component is superb. Be sure to schedule the Estate Tour and Tastings: "Tue - Sat, 11am (allow 2 hours) | Prior reservation required Join us for a guided tour of the property that will lead you through the vineyards to our state-of-the-art winery. Relax in one of our intimate tasting spaces and enjoy wines from both Cliff Lede Vineyards and FEL Wines paired with a selection of seasonal canapés." Visit Regular tastings are available to the public without an appointment.

Cliff Lede courtyard

Cliff Lede Vineyards is located where the old S. Anderson Vineyard use to be on Yountville Cross Road in the Stags Leap District. Both of us had visited S. Anderson Vineyard many times over the years and use to love attending the yearly classical music concerts held there. In 2002 Cliff Lede (pronounced "Laydee"), a Canadian businessman who loved Bordeaux wines, purchased S.Anderson Vineyards and founded Cliff Lede Vineyards. He decided to focus primarily on red Bordeaux style wines. The well known architect Howard Backen designed the new high tech, state of the art winery completed in 2005 and Backen & Gillam restored the 1913 Craftsman-style building now used as a tasting room. The vineyard includes 60 acres that extends toward the hills where Cliff Lede's luxurious Poetry Inn (opened in 2005) is situated overlooking the Napa Valley. In 2011 they also added Savoy Vineyard in Anderson Valley and created a sister label called FEL, named after Mr. Lede's mother Florence Elsie Lede.

Cliff Lede entry sign

Each vineyard block or section is named after one of Cliff Lede's favorite rock songs or rock albums, with such names as "Dark Side of the Moon", "Hotel California", "Purple Haze" and "Light My Fire." The art gallery in the Backstage Reserve Tasting Room (included in the tour) currently features rock related art by Stanley Mouse who created album covers and advertising posters for the Grateful Dead, Journey, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and others. A large, impressive painting of Grace Kelly by Tony Scherman may be viewed in the winery production area. In the lovely courtyards you will encounter sculptures by Jim Dine along with a pretty rose garden.

Cliff Lede courtyard

Every year about half of the newly forming grape bunches in the Cliff Lede vineyard are "dropped" or removed so that the remaining grapes will be more concentrated and complex. Irrigation and farming are carefully monitored by computers that alert staff by mobile phone when attention or changes are required. After harvesting, a Pellenc optical sorting machine is used to sort individual grapes after they have been carefully destemmed. This is followed by hand sorting of grapes to find any imperfect grapes the optical sorting machine might have missed. Each block of wine is fermented and aged apart from other blocks. A unique gravity crane system gently guides the whole berries to the tanks. Specially tapered tanks modeled after the ones used at Chateau Latour were specially created for them by American tank manufacturer Mueller and allow for higher skin to juice ratios that lead to wines with great complexity and deeper concentration. The more expensive cigar barrels made of French oak are utilized for aging. With Cliff Lede Vineyards wines everything is meticulously hand crafted.

Cliff Lede

Exhibition Artwork Courtesy of Stanley Mouse.

Copyrights Reserved, Mouse Studios 2014

Our first tasting actually began upon or arrival and prior to the wonderful tour. This was the FEL 2013 Chardonnay from Anderson Valley ($28). It is a blend of multiple clones sourced from Ferrington and Savoy Vineyards near Boonville. Only a small amount of malolactic conversion was allowed and it was aged sur lie in neutral French oak. 1,201 cases were produced. If you like a more French Burgundian style Chardonnay, without excessive oak or too much MLF, then this Chardonnay should really appeal to you, especially at this price. I got mostly lemon and mineral notes on the palate which was dry, fresh and very well balanced. The finish was moderately long. I enjoyed drinking this alone, but it would pair wonderfully with food, especially seafood or vinegar based salads. It is a bargain at only $28 and we purchased some.

Cliff Lede courtyard and waterfall fountain

Our food paired tastings were not at the bar but at a table situated in a comfortable room adjacent to the tasting room. It was a relaxed, quiet and intimate setting with our wine educator, who really is a "wine educator" and not simply a winery server. The first pour was the Cliff Lede Vineyards 2013 Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley at $25. Most of the fruit in this wine was grown on old vines in eastern Rutherford known for their richness and citrus notes. Other grapes were sourced from the southeastern hills of Napa Valley and help to provide the brightness and minerality. Fruit from the cooler east side of Napa was then included to add more acidity and finesse. Chiles Valley fruit adds some tropical notes. The final blend was 91% Sauvignon Blanc, 7% Semillon and 2% Sauvignon Vert. It was cold fermented 50% in stainless steel, 44% in neutral French oak and 6% in concrete egg shaped containers. Production was 6581 cases. This very nice Sauvignon Blanc was paired with smoked salmon and crème fresh on crispy toast. It was a brilliant yellow in color and had an intense floral nose of fresh orange blossoms with some notes of lemon, white peach and minerality. It was one of the most aromatic Sauvignon Blancs I've encounter recently, a sheer delight to the senses. On the palate it was well structured with crisp but very well balanced acids, good minerality, along with white peach, pineapple and pear. It had a long and lingering finish with lemon, lime and grapefruit notes. At only $25, this Sauvignon Blanc is an excellent buy. Obviously we had to purchase a number of bottles and will probably return for more.

Cliff Lede courtyyard

We moved into red wines with the FEL 2012 Ferrington Vineyard Pinot Noir at $65. This is a blend of clones from the famous Ferrington Vineyard in Anderson Valley. (Ferrington grapes have been sourced by Williams Selyem, Schramsberg and other premium wineries.) It was aged for 14 months in French oak with 44% new oak. 2,923 cases were produced. It was one of the most aromatic Pinot Noirs I've ever encountered, with intense but complex notes of cherry, strawberry, raspberry, black tea, and spices that captivated the senses while my nose was still about eight inches away from the glass. On the palate it was medium bodied and complex with good acid, silky tannins and mostly cherry with some forest floor. It seemed to combine the best characteristics of a the fuller bodied and more structured styled Pinot Noirs with the liveliness and fresh fruit of a softer type Pinot Noir. The finish was long and broad. This Pinot Noir should be receiving scores in the 90s and was an very good Pinot Noir that was an essential purchase for us. It is very drinkable now but should age well. We had it delightfully paired with roasted portabella mushroom tartar on top of toasted brioche with shaved asiago cheese. This would be the perfect wine for turkey and Thanksgiving dinner.

Cliff Lede

Exhibition Artwork Courtesy of Stanley Mouse.

Copyrights Reserved, Mouse Studios 2014

Next up was the Cliff Lede Vineyards 2011 High Fidelity Red Blend from Napa Valley, priced at $80. As most readers will know, red French Bordeauxs from the left bank are blends based mostly on Cabernet Sauvignon whereas those from the right bank are mostly Merlot. This High Fidelity red blend is a classic right bank Bordeaux styled blend of 45% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Franc, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot and was aged for 18 months in French oak, with 85% new oak. It had a lovely aroma of red cherry, pomegranate and cigar box followed by smooth tannins, refreshing acidity, a medium body and fresh berries on the palate. The finish was long and refreshing. Medium bodied but with good structure, this wine had good substance and complexity while retaining refreshing fresh fruit and liveliness. It paired extremely well with duck and juniper berry polpetta with fig and Cabernet reduction. Another essential purchase for us.

Jim Dine sculpture at Cliff Lede Vineyards

Our final pour was the Cliff Lede Vineyards 2011 Songbook Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley at $190. Many Napa Valley wineries now offer some ultra premium or reserve Cabs in the $200 range, and I must confess that most of them I've tasted are really exceptional. What makes this one stand out is that it is a wonderful Cab in a year that was not one of the best in Napa Valley. But then the grapes are from David Abreau's Thorevilos Vineyard and his Madrona Ranch, so this Cab was made from some of the finest (and most expensive) grapes in the world. This is a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc and 9% Merlot with an alcohol content of 14.4%. It is an amazing wine, and well worth the asking price. Again it had an intense aroma. All of the Cliff Lede and FEL wines had such a great nose that I would ordinarily think that my sense of smell was somehow enhanced the day we visited. But my friend had the same olfactory experience. The Songbook had aromas of black cherry, black currant, cinnamon and forest floor in a complex and enticing aromatic presentation. Taste wise it was heavenly. It had great body and structure but was not overly extracted. Tannins were soft, silky, and perfectly integrated. Fruits were mostly dark with black cherry, black plum, and black currants. There was some flinty minerality with exotic spices, adding layers of complexity to perfect balance and harmony. It was hedonistically pleasurable to experience. I would expect this wine to be receiving scores in the high 90s. It should age gracefully if you can resist drinking it now, something that would be probably be beyond my ability to do. We tasted it paired with Neapolitan style eggplant parmesan with tomato confit and warm, fresh mozzarella, but it was a wonderful wine simply on its own.

Cliff Lede vineyard

We enthusiastically recommend that you place Cliff Lede Vineyards very high on your list of Napa Valley wineries to visit and that you indulge yourself by taking their outstanding tour with the food and wine paring. We have been on hundreds of winery tours over the years, but this one is really a must. We hope you enjoy your visit as much as we did.