2004 Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District, 6L

Hand harvested into small 35-pound boxes, the grapes were destemmed to tank for a three-to-five-day, pre-fermentation cold soak. The juice was inoculated and the wine underwent a seven to ten day warm fermentation in an effort to promote extraction. Selected lots were held on the skins after fermentation for nearly a month to further develop the tannin structure. The wine was racked into thin-stave French, chateau-style oak barrels (eighty-seven percent of which were new), where the wine was aged for twenty months. In order to preserve its inherent concentration and rich texture, the wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered. The final blend is composed of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Malbec, and 5% Petit Verdot.