Cliff Lede 2016 High Fidelity, Red Blend, Napa Valley

A rare Napa Valley Red Blend! Established in 2002, Cliff Lede Vineyards encompasses sixty acres in the famed Stags Leap District of Napa Valley. Cliff Lede, Vineyard Architect David Abreu and Winemaker Christopher Tynan have come together to form an unrivaled team. Along with a state-of-the-art gravity flow winery they are making the most of this remarkable property.


This wine is one that's not available anywhere but at the winery and we have it! The Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in this blend are from their Twin Peaks estate vineyard, while the Cabernet Franc hails from acclaimed viticulturist David Abreu’s Madrona Ranch. The vineyards are farmed with meticulous attention to detail, maintaining yields at sparse levels—ranging from two to three tons per acre. The wine is composed of just a few of the very best lots from these most cherished sites.


Grapes were picked in the darkness of the early morning hours. The freshly-harvested fruit immediately underwent the rigorous selection of their three-tiered sorting process, which included their cutting-edge optical sorter. Whole berries were gently delivered by gravity to tanks, minimizing disruption of berry integrity. Cold soaks lasted approximately seven days, and fermentations were managed via a combination of délestage, pumpovers, and punchdowns. Extended maceration ranging from four to five weeks fine-tuned the tannin profiles, perfecting mouth feel and wine complexity. The wine was aged in French oak barrels, 85% of which was new, for 21 months.


The Wine Advocate scored this 93+ saying "The 2016 Proprietary Red Blend High Fidelity is a blend of 51% Cabernet Franc, 34% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Petit Verdot. It has a deep garnet-purple color and sings of warm red cherries, black raspberries, redcurrant preserves and mulberries with touches of pencil shavings, wilted roses and spearmint. Full-bodied and laden with perfumed red berry layers, it has a solid line of chewy tannins and a lovely fragrant finish." Extremely Limited!