Super refined and polished, this wine opens with lifted notes of unsmoked tobacco, ripe cassis, and black cherry, layered with blue fruit nuances and cool wet slate minerality. It’s wonderfully fresh and crisp on the palate, the fruit deep and penetrating yet bright and pure. A spine of blood orange acidity brings both darkness and lift, while layers of rose petals and rose stem round out the finish. The complexity is off the charts in 2023, finishing with beautifully exotic tropical notes of guava and dried mango. The tannins are mineral-laced, superfine, and build with a crescendo through the long finish. There’s plenty of length and intrigue. Rounded out with 1% Cabernet Franc. The Poetry Vineyard, carved into a steep west-facing hillside, stretches from the highest elevations of the Stags Leap District appellation down to the valley floor. Its uniqueness lies in its shallow volcanic soils atop fractured shale, planted to legendary, proprietary heritage selections of Cabernet Sauvignon.
98 points, Jonathan Cristaldi, Decanter (Mar 2026)
Remarkably pure, the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Poetry offers up a thrilling perfume of crème de cassis, crunchy blue fruits, darker cherries, sappy flowers, violets, graphite, and cedar pencil. In the mouth, it's medium to full-bodied, has a pure, focused texture, beautiful overall balance, ripe tannins, and a great finish. I continue to think these current Poetry releases lack a touch of the density and texture compared to older vintages, yet this is nevertheless a beautiful, elegant, layered wine that's going to evolve for 25-30 years. I followed this bottle for multiple days, and it never failed to impress. Drink 2025-2055.
97 points, Jeb Dunnuck (Dec 2025)
The 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Poetry emerges from Lede's hillside vineyard blocks in Stags Leap. Bright acids cut through a core of cool blue-toned fruit, buffering the wine's natural textural intensity. Poetry is a big wine, but it does not feel at all heavy. It’s a fine conclusion to this stellar set of 2023s.
97 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous (Nov 2025)
This steep, rocky site has yielded up a 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Poetry worthy of a Homeric ode. Scents of dark loam, black cherries and hints of peppery spice and Madagascar vanilla emerge from the glass, while the medium- to full-bodied palate boasts a lovely suede-like texture, being rich and supple but sturdy, giving ample room for growth and development, culminating in a long, mouthwatering and gently astringent finish. Impressive stuff.
96+ points, Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate (May 2026)
Beautifully polished for a wine of this power, offering expansive fruit flavors, generous oak spices and a velvety texture. Full-bodied with prominent tannins, but they’re rounded and silky, bringing out lovely blueberry, black-cherry, star-anise and tobacco-leaf flavors that linger in the finish. Drink or hold.
96 points, Jim Gordon, James Suckling (Sep 2025)
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