Cliff Lede - Rhythm Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 (750ml)

Add to Wish List

Price: $122.99

Producer	Cliff Lede
Country	United States
Region	Stags Leap District
Varietal	Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage	2022
Sku	123218
Size	750ml
ABV	13.80%

Cliff Lede Description

2022 CLIFF LEDE “RHYTHM” CABERNET SAUVIGNON, STAGS LEAP DISTRICT
Cliff Lede Vineyards is a family-owned and operated winery located in the famed Stags Leap District. For over
20 years, Cliff Lede Vineyards has prioritized crafting wines of extraordinary quality with authenticity and
sustainability in mind.
Vintage
Warm temperatures in February and March jumpstarted an early 2022 growing season. Early budbreak often
comes with the vulnerability to frost, but luckily our vines suffered no damage during the cool spring nights.
Early irrigations were necessary to set up healthy canopies and the vines set an average crop after an
uneventful bloom period. The uniform and even clusters needed little thinning, and attention was paid to
sculpting the shoots and laterals to ensure adequate shading and airflow throughout the fruiting positions.
Late August was hot, and September was forecasted to be even hotter, so we began picking in rapid
succession before the heat to preserve the fresh acidities and delicate aromatics already present in the grapes.
Vineyards
The Rhythm Vineyard is located on the subtle slopes of our Stags Leap District estate. Defined by two large
hills at its southern border, this vineyard surrounds our winery and reaches west toward the Napa River. The
Rhythm Vineyard’s soil is composed of gravelly loam of varying depths and rock content. The incredibly
diverse soil profile enables us to farm several small blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon and additional Bordeaux
varieties with unique combinations of clonal selections and rootstocks.
Winemaking
In the cool darkness of night, grapes were hand-picked into small twenty-five pound bins to minimize crushing.
By early morning, the grapes were subjected to rigorous selection by our three-tiered sorting process which
includes our cutting-edge optical sorter, and a slow, individual berry hand sort. The fruit was gently gravity-
delivered to small tanks by our unique crane system which kept the berries intact. Cold soaks lasted from five
to eight days, and fermentations were managed through a combination of pump overs and délestage. Extended
maceration of up to six weeks ensured exceptional extraction and fine-tuning of tannin profiles. This wine
underwent twenty-one months of élevage in French oak barrels, 86% of which were new.
Winemaker Notes
The triumphal 2022 Rhythm exudes class and sophistication right out of the glass, flaunting its Stags Leap
District breeding and balanced perfection with confidence. There are gorgeous black currants, kirsch, pain
grille, cigar wrapper, and pencil shavings on the nose, with loamy rocky aromas intertwined with sandalwood
and mint. Fresh and balanced with no heaviness, the chocolatey and cassis flavors linger with a fine density
along the medium-long finish. – Christopher Tynan, Director of Winemaking
Analysis
Composition: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Petit Verdot, 2% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc
Alcohol: 13.8%
Production: 1,320 cases
Bottling Date: July 2024
Release Date: December 2024