Winemaker Notes
Hartwell XX is an estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon that offers notes of red and black fruit. Sleek, sexy and sophisticated
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
So distinctive, concentrated and focused, offering a pure blackcurrant and blueberry core wrapped in muscular tannins. Polished and velvety around the edges, yet deep and intense, with creme de cassis, spearmint, dark chocolate and graphite flavors. Drinkable now, but best from 2030.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From a one-acre parcel planted in 1986 to 1987, the harmonious 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Hartwell XX delivers outstanding aromas of black cherries, fine leather and dried spices, including cinnamon, allspice and cardamom. This full-bodied wine has that special Stags Leap District suede-like texture, great concentration and a lingering, elegant finish tinged with dark chocolate.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from the top of the estate property on Wappo Hill (540 feet in elevation), the 2022 Hartwell XX has a brilliant nose of darker currants, violets, orange blossom, and tobacco, with some classic Pauillac-like tobacco and cedar nuances. It's rich, full-bodied, has a deep, layered mouthfeel, and ripe tannins. This beauty isn't going to make you forget the magical 2021, but we're clearly not far off, and this is already upfront and accessible. It will deliver the goods over the coming 15+ years.
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Decanter
This full-bodied, rich, and lush Cabernet comes from the hilltop parcel of Hartwell Estate within the Moonracer property. Dark cherry and cocoa powder meld with walnut and cherry wood nuances, while firm, elongated tannins provide structure. The mid-palate builds with a creamy richness, finishing with classic Stags Leap volcanic mineral tension. Bold and expressive now, yet with the right balance and tension to age gracefully—this is a wine to cellar from the 2022 vintage.
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Vinous
The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Hartwell XX is packed with explosive dark fruit, chocolate, licorice and new leather. Inky and deep, the Hartwell is terrific. Ripe black cherry, plum, incense, licorice and chocolate are all dialed up. The 2022 is extroverted and quite potent.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Legend has it that quick and nimble stags would escape the indigenous hunters of southern Napa Valley through the landmark palisades that sit just northeast of the current city of Napa. As a result, the area was given the name, Stags Leap. While its grape-growing history dates back to the mid-1800s, winemaking didn’t really take off until the mid-1970s after a small but pivotal blind tasting called the Judgement of Paris.
When a 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon won first place against its high-profile Bordeaux contenders, like Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Haut-Brion, international attention to the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley escalated rapidly.
The vineyards in this one-of-a-kind wine growing region receive hot afternoon air reflecting off of its eastern palisade formation. In combination with the cool evening breezes from the San Pablo Bay just south, this becomes an optimal environment for grape growing. While many varieties could thrive here, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominate with virtually no others, save for a spot or two of Syrah.
Stags Leap soils—eroded volcanic and old river sediments—encourage well established root systems and result in complex, terroir-driven wines. Stags Leap District reds have a distinct sour cherry and black berry character with baking spice and dried earth aromas, and supple tannins.