Winemaker Notes
One sniff and anticipation takes hold. Beautiful aromas of vine-ripened blackberry contrast perfectly with spicy notes of nutmeg. There are a luscious weight and texture to the wine, but also a racy edge of well-balanced acidity on the palate. This is an extraordinary Cabernet – powerful, yet elegant, with all the wonderful aging potential you’ve come to expect from Heitz wines.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Woody, herbal and elegantly structured, this wine is high-toned and freshly layered in bold red fruit. Given time in the barrel and the bottle, it shows its graceful edges and nuanced elegance with ease, finishing in dusty crushed rock. It vastly overdelivers on its price point.
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Decanter
Heitz Cellars' Napa Cabernet is always one of the region's best-value buys, thanks in part to the winery's dedication to a pre-release ageing regimen. It spends eight months in neutral tank, two years in 50% new French oak, and then 18 months in bottle before release. Notes of aged leather, toffee and brick dust on a refined and velvety-textured palate. An honest Napa Cab. Drinking Window 2020 - 2050
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.