Cliff Lede

Located smack in the middle of Napa Valley, Cliff Lede winery is a real gem.  His Poetry Cabernet Sauvignon has received stellar reviews and the winery had been visited by numerous rock and roll legends.  Cliff, himself, is an art collector and avid music fan.  And it shows in pretty much everything about the winery and the vineyards.  There are signed guitars on display, many works of art by rockers like John Lennon.  And the vineyard blocks are all named after famous songs — such as Closer to the Heart by Rush.  I wonder if Geddy Lee has been there?

The grounds are lovely and there are many rooms in several buildings to accommodate a lot of tasters.  The Barrel room where we were set up has a lovely view of the grounds on one side and a great view of the wine making facility opposite.  The room an accommodate a pretty large group of folks and has a great kitchen area off to one side.  Just beyond the wine making equipment there is a double door that leads to the caves where we saw . . . well . . . too many barrels to count.

But how was the wine?  Delicious!  Did the Poetry stand up to the Wine Enthusiast 100pt score?  No, but nearly.  We gave it a resounding 98.  However, for the price the insanely good Dancing Heart Cab (97pts in my book), was the standout at $115 a bottle (and that’s before my industry discount).  The Poetry was almost too perfect, whereas the Dancing Heart had interestingly nuanced edges that made you want to spend time with it and investigate.  

Our server, Pat, was a lovely gal, interesting, knowledgeable, professional and friendly.  We’d go back to Cliff Lede again in a heartbeat.