Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon Imagine Rhapsody

This wine has matured wonderfully but still has lots of stuffing to go on for years. Needed about 1-2 hours to fully open up. The fruit is still bursting with flavor and gets enhanced with lots of secondary notes. Fairly well balanced and nice energy on the smooth finish. On the downside, it did start to shut down after about 4 hours. I'd say drink them if you got them.

2007 vintage

Classic California Cab notes, currant, blackberry, tobacco, and herb. Fully mature and ready to drink...side note, had to use a Durand as the cork was soft. The wine itself was well preserved, however.

2007 vintage

Decanted 2.5 hours. Super yummy aged Stag's Leap Cab at peak with velvet tannins, mocha, licorice, black and red currants, Italian herbs, dried wildflowers.

2007 vintage

Served blind A bit shy at first, but opened up beautifully in the decanter with 45 minutes of air. Peak drinking now Ripe but restrained dark fruit, oak well integrated Quite lovely

2007 vintage

3rd of 3 bottles. Chewy and thick, plenty of glycerin-laden black fruits and spices. Some espresso grounds, mocha chips, finishing with a little green pepper and more black fruit. This wine is in a really nice place right now, ready to drink with a short decant. Will likely drink well through 2023+. Not a rebuy for me at $80 USD.

2007 vintage

This was clearly a bottle at its peak performance!! Had a great nose, amazingly complex palate and long finish. Richly bodied wine with lots of chocolate, coffee, earth but not heavy or taxing. Nice supporting structure to lengthen and keep the finish lively. It was a head turner! Went amazingly well with coffee marinated tri-tip steak. Wow!!

2007 vintage

Completely consistent with my previous experience documented here. This wine is in a great place right now. Opens beautifully with a bit of a floral nose. Ripe, bright, red fruit on the palate...strawberry, raspberry, cherry and a bit of cola. A touch of acidity and some gentle tannins add some backbone and complexity. Wish I had more but I don’t think this will be as tasty in another 5 years. Drank with friends at Magnolia’s Restaurant in Charleston accompanying a …

2007 vintage

Wonderful bottle right from the start. Aging beautifully. Deep, dark, rich body and mouthfeel with good acidity and tannin to balance it out. Pencil lead, some earthiness lurk below the fruit. Nice finish.

2007 vintage

A bit funky initially. Whatever that was blew off and let forth a torrent of cherry liquor, licorice, and blackberry. The acid balances the fruit nicely, so this does NOT come off as a sweet fruit bomb. Tannins are still there but I’m unsure how this will age beyond the next 10 years. My guess is more tertiary development but it’s pretty damn good right now with some air.

2007 vintage

Rock Blocks are always fun since they change from year to year. The 2007 is medium garnet in color with a touch of bricking at the rim. The color belies the freshness of this wine. This is a bit more fruit forward than the 2008 with notes of bright red fruit...raspberry, strawberry cherry and cola. Less brooding than the 2008 and a touch less structured. This is right at the apex of its drinking window.

2007 vintage

Dark red and a lovely nose of flowers, smelled like a St. Estephe. Cherry liqueur, cassis, and pencil shavings. 50 second finish. Really nice.

2007 vintage

This Napa wine weighs in at 15% abv. The nose shows off black cherry liqueur, raspberry jam, vanillin, and cinnamon. The palate is certainly full in body, showing off ripe black and red cherry fruit, road asphalt, and a licorice/spice mix. This wine is drinking beautifully right now, and should continue to do so through 2022+. A bit too ripe for my taste, but hard to push back the glass, nonetheless.

2007 vintage

Have to say I was disappointed. No fruit, thin mouthfeel, but also none of the upside from having 10yrs of age. Maybe it's in a dumb period.

2007 vintage

Smooth, easy drinking Stag's Leap fruit from one of the consistently best affordable wineries in Napa.

2007 vintage

Super rich and sleek, with rounded corners, smoky oak, and a warm finish. Red currant, wild berry, barrel char, and vanilla on the palate. Tannins are tasty and melted. Medium acidity. Attention grabbing and modern, drinking at its peak. Heat is a bit distracting. Killer match with posole - generous sweet fruit counterbalances the intense, spicy, smoky chili.

2007 vintage

Popped and poured, pretty good wine.

2007 vintage

Lovely wine. Ripe Napa cab with blackberry, anise, and cassis. 45 second finish. Cliff Lede makes wonderful wines in Stags Leap. I have very little concern that this won't still be a very nice wine in five years.

2007 vintage

Spot on! A perfectly aged Stags Leap cab. Full, rich, smooth. All the things you look for. Even then, pouring through a Vinturi actually brought out the bouquet a touch more, and perhaps opened up the flavor some. This was the last bottle in our cellar. If you're cellaring any, I suggest not waiting any longer to drink it. I can't say that it's flattening, but it could quickly go that way.

2007 vintage

Quite nice. Agree with comments of earlier tasters. One note, however, is that I actually think the wine is at risk for flattening off. Indeed, that may already be happening. I'm note going to wait any longer for the last bottle in our cellar.

2007 vintage

Quite delicious wine that initially had an off-aroma of burnt rubber, but this seemed to blow off 30 mins into the decant. Enjoyed with steak this evening. Complex and wild, showing off flavors and aromas of smoky licorice, black cherry, rich cassis, and plum, this full bodied wine was supported with ample med acidity. The tannins did not really emerge until 1 hour opened, and were quite soft and resolving, so I am moving my drinking window from 2022 back …

2007 vintage

Took a full 6 hours of decanting for this wine to open up. Generous with dark fruits, earthiness, pencil lead, mocha in a rich package. Nose was somewhat closed. Long finish with fine tannins. Full bodied. Excellent with gorgonzola topped filets. Memorable

2007 vintage

A cc from RockinCabs here "blackberry. Smoke, Chocolate and fresh barrel oak. Palate: Viscous and thick cabernet here, very deep black fruit that borders on over-ripe. Deep Cherry and Chocolate here too, and a nice Medicinal note. Finish: Very long and palate staining. Plum, Blueberry, Oak and Spice. Touch more residual sugar than I typically would have expected, but this is a very nice "all out" kind of cab. Reflects the vintage for sure" Will say, this is one big …

2007 vintage

Nose: Prune, Fig, Plum and Blackberry. Smoke, Chocolate and fresh barrel oak. Palate: Viscous and thick cabernet here, very deep black fruit that borders on over-ripe. Deep Cherry and Chocolate here too, and a nice Medicinal note. Finish: Very long and palate staining. Plum, Blueberry, Oak and Spice. Touch more residual sugar than I typically would have expected, but this is a very nice "all out" kind of cab. Reflects the vintage for sure.

2007 vintage

Great bottle, drank very well with a beef dinner. I wish I had more. Earthy yet with a little spice (if that makes sense).

2007 vintage

Good wine...not a great wine though. It probably could have used another 5 years of cellar time and it would have helped. Decanted about two hours prior to dinner and still had some tannins on the back end. I would have thought this would have been much better considering the price, but it was still a crowd pleaser.

2007 vintage

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Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon Imagine Rhapsody

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