Winemaker Notes
The 2018 vintage was one of exceptional quality for Heitz Cellar. The cooler to moderate temperatures during the growing season allowed us to balance sugar and phenolic maturity in the fruit while maintaining natural acidity to help preserve the fresh characteristics of the vintage. The elegance and balanced structure of the 2018 vintage will make this an incredible wine to drink upon release and will continue to reward with cellar aging.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A pure, balanced and fresh Napa cabernet that is not just showing heady concentration and dark fruit. Here you get some violets, nimble flowers, redcurrants, graphite and fine spices. Some oranges, too. Fragrant and nuanced. Medium to full body with tight yet refined tannins. Rather linear, tense and elegant, but lacking neither power nor definition. Better to give it a few years to deliver more complexity.
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Wine Enthusiast
Deep black-currant and blackberry flavors come with a warm, rounded texture bolstered by fine-grained tannins in this concentrated and mouth-filling wine. Hints of mint and dark chocolate enhance the aroma and continue through the finish. Best 2025–2035.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Heitz's regular 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon features a slightly minty-eucalyptus edge, cherries and a hint of leather. Medium-bodied and concentrated, this is silky and fine, finishing a bit tart. Personally, I'd prefer to see more mid-palate richness, but that's not the style being pursued here. Best After 2024.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.