2010 Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon Songbook

(14.3% alcohol; from Madrona and Thorvilos vineyards; blended with 6% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot): Dark berries and crushed rock on the nose. Sweet but tight-grained, with harmonious acidity giving shape to the concentrated flavors of dark berry, minerals and sweet piney forest floor. Finishes dense and long, with dusty tannins and excellent lift. Very strong juice, with the spine to assure a slow and positive evolution in bottle.

The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Songbook is seriously deep, dark and beautiful. Espresso, pine, menthol licorice and smoke jump from the glass in this brooding beauty. The purity and pedigree of the fruit, sourced from David Abreu, comes through in spades. The Songbook is without question the most backward of these 2010s from Cliff Lede. Layers of dark blue and black fruit supported by huge tannins leave a lasting impression on the intense finish. Songbook is 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, all off of David Abreu's Madrona Ranch and Thorevilos properties. The relatively high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in this vintage works beautifully.

(blended with 6% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot; from purchased fruit): Good deep ruby-red. Raspberry, blueberry, mocha, chocolate and flowers on the nose and palate; less minerally than Cliff Lede's estate bottlings. Sweet, lush and fine-grained, with the berry, loam and mocha notes carrying through on the palate. A dense, pure wine from an obviously warmer site, finishing with smooth but strong tannins, excellent oak integration, firm structure and a lingering note of mocha.