Happy Memorial Day weekend and happy National Wine Day, which also falls on my anniversary. My wonderful hubby, Gary, loves a good glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, so in honor of him, the holiday weekend filled with joyful anticipation of a fun summer and of course, National Wine Day, we are raising a glass of Cliff Lede Rythm Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine hails from the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley, where Cliff Lede has planted Bordeaux varieties in sloping gravel and rock-filled soils of the estate’s Rythm Vineyard.

The inaugural vintage of the winery’s Rythm Cabernet Sauvignon is crafted from optical and hand-sorted fruit that undergoes six weeks of maceration, extracting rich color, tannin, and flavor. It has been aged for 21 months in partially new French oak, ensuring the final product has a balance of fruit, tannin, and acidity with a bold, well-rounded, nicely integrated flavor profile. With an inky purple hue, the wine opens with layers of ripe berries, black plum, and graphite, which mingle with wildflowers, toasted spice, anise, and a touch of espresso. The palate is rich and concentrated, with lovely complexity that is perfect now but can also age for several years, further softening the tannins.