Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Made without oak, this is a beautiful, stylish and elegant young wine to drink now. Blended with some Sémillon for buttery fat, it highlights lime, green grass, white peach and white pepper fl avors, brightened with brisk acidity. Achieves an unusual level of control and complexity, especially at this price. Editors’ Choice
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Wine & Spirits
Bernard Portet blendds of semillon into this sauvignon, the combination luscious and rich without feeling heavy. There's a cool spring water freshness to the finish, clearning up after the heady passionfruit flavors.
A commitment to classic Napa Valley style sets Heritance wines apart and deeply roots them in America’s most celebrated wine region. As the cornerstone Napa brand of the Taub Family Vineyards, Heritance produces wines from the best mid-valley sites in St. Helena, Yountville, Oakville and Rutherford – including the renowned Beckstoffer Vineyard Georges III.
The family’s roots in the California wine business date back to the days just following the end of Prohibition. Three generations of Taubs, starting with Martin Taub (left) and David S. Taub (center), have contributed to an illustrious and enterprising legacy in the wine and spirits trade. Inspired by his family’s legacy, Taub Family Vineyards was launched in 2013 by Marc D. Taub (right), President & CEO of Taub Family Companies which includes Palm Bay International and Taub Family Selections.
The Beauty of Napa is the diversity of its soils: older and mineral driven on the slopes of the Mayacamus and Vaca Mountain ranges, with alluvial fans of primarily gravelly, sandy and loamy clay on the valley floor. Rutherford soils are dominated by the Franciscan marine sedimentary materials with some volcanic deposits. The Mediterranean climate allows for a long, dry summer with warm days and cool nights, and light summer rainfall, with a low risk for vineyard disease.
Under the experienced eye of chief winemaker Tom Hinde, Heritance wines uphold a tradition of elegance. Former President and CEO of Flowers Winery, Tom’s experience in California winemaking is considerable. While he is involved in every aspect of the growing and winemaking process, he also finds time to promote the wines across the country, working with Marc Taub to showcase the beauty of Napa Valley in every bottle of Heritance.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
One of the world's most highly regarded regions for wine production as well as tourism, the Napa Valley was responsible for bringing worldwide recognition to California winemaking. In the 1960s, a few key wine families settled the area and hedged their bets on the valley's world-class winemaking potential—and they were right.
The Napa wine industry really took off in the 1980s, when producers scooped up vineyard lands and planted vines throughout the county. A number of wineries emerged, and today Napa is home to hundreds of producers ranging from boutique to corporate. Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely the grape of choice here, with many winemakers also focusing on Bordeaux blends. White wines from Napa Valley are usually Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that claim specific wine characteristics based on situation, slope and soil. Farthest south and coolest from the influence of the San Pablo Bay is Carneros, followed by Coombsville to its northeast and then Yountville, Oakville and Rutherford. Above those are the warm St. Helena and the valley's newest and hottest AVA, Calistoga. These areas follow the valley floor and are known generally for creating rich, dense, complex and smooth red wines with good aging potential. The mountain sub appellations, nestled on the slopes overlooking the valley AVAs, include Stags Leap District, Atlas Peak, Chiles Valley (farther east), Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain District and Diamond Mountain District. Napa Valley wines from the mountain regions are often more structured and firm, benefiting from a lot of time in the bottle to evolve and soften.