Cliff Lede Sauvignon Blanc 2024
(Napa Valley, California) - [DM 94] [JS 91] [WS 90]

About the Winery:
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.

Owner Cliff Lede, Vineyard Architect David Abreu and Winemaker Chris Tynan, with consulting winemaker Michel Rolland, joined together to form an unrivaled team on a 60-acre property in Stags Leap District. Established in 2002, they produce only Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. As Robert Parker said of their first vintage: "they are already well on their way to making world-class wines."

Completed in 2005, their gravity-flow winery boasts a berry-by-berry sorting system and conical tanks commissioned using a design inspired by the tanks of Château Latour. One tank per vineyard block ensures each lot evolves at its own pace and acres of caves with single-layer barrel storage ensure access to each barrel at all times.

About this Wine:

Vineyards
Our Sauvignon Blanc is a lively, yet elegant, expression of this varietal that gathers its complexity from both the diversity of terroir running north to south in the Napa Valley and from the inclusion of the rich and unctuous Sémillon grape. This blend includes Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon from our estate vineyards in Calistoga, Stags Leap District, and Carneros. A grower vineyard in eastern Rutherford is home to old vines planted to a heritage Musqué clone that provides density, richness, and lemon citrus notes. Finally, old vine Sémillon from another site in Calistoga gives the wine an expansive mouth-coating richness that is the hallmark of our style. 

Winemaking
The fruit was hand-harvested in the cool darkness of night and arrived at the winery at dawn. The grapes were then held in controlled low oxygen and cold temperatures. Gentle, whole-cluster pressing released the delicate, prized juices and created a deeper level of complexity. The juice was fermented in 86% French oak barrels, 29% of which were new, and 14% stainless steel tanks. All fermentations were conducted at cold temperatures to preserve the freshness of the fruit. Upon reaching dryness, the wine was aged on its lees and select lots underwent occasional bâtonnage.

Winemaker Notes
Opening with alluring aromas of lime flower, grapefruit, and elderflower, the 2023 Sauvignon Blanc’s charm is inescapable. Kiwi and lychee flavors melt into pear and white peach as the bright entry dances into a wide, creamy mid-palate with unctuous orange marmalade layers. The finish is long and broad, laden with notes of toasted brioche, beeswax, and a crystalline minerality accompanying a precise finish. – Christopher Tynan, Director of Winemaking

Ratings & Reviews

94 Points - Decanter Magazine:
"Estate-grown Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, and Sauvignon Musqué grapes from Calistoga, the Stags Leap District, and Carneros are fermented and aged for six months in a mix of stainless steel and French oak, 35% of which is new. Some Musqué clone fruit is sourced from a grower in eastern Rutherford. They’ve truly captured freshness and minerality despite the warmer vintage. The wine builds in the glass with crisp, clean orchard fruit and subtle tropical notes, lifted by a squeeze of lemon and lime juice. There’s always great mid-palate richness to these wines, and in this vintage, it’s marked by bright minerality and lemon zest, with elegant orange peel, white floral notes, and subtle marzipan and crushed almond nuances. (Drink between 2026-2038)" - Jonathan Cristaldi (Nov 2025)

91 Points - James Suckling:
"This full-bodied yet well-balanced wine shows good fruit richness on the nose while integrating more lively and bracing citrus flavors on the palate. A sense of underlying acidity and concentration help it expand as you sip. Drink now or hold." (Sep 2025)

90 Points - Wine Spectator:
"Elegant and precise, with notes of pear, lemon zest, white pepper and quince that are seamless and harmonious on a fresh frame. Details of lemongrass and lemon thyme linger. Drink now. 7,400 cases made." - MaryAnn Worobiec (Feb 2026)