- About This Wine
- Ratings & Reviews
- Tasting Notes
About This Wine
Ratings & Reviews
Tasting Notes
ABOUT THIS WINE
REVIEWS
WINEMAKER NOTES
The 2021 Heitz Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a study in precision, heritage, and unyielding Napa terroir. An homage to classical winemaking and a benchmark for value-driven elegance, this wine embodies the house style that has long defined Heitz Cellar: poised restraint, age-worthy structure, and seamless integration of fruit, tannin, and acid. It is both a tribute to legacy and a statement of relevance in today’s market flooded with opulence and extraction.
On the nose, the 2021 opens with striking aromatic clarity—red currants, crushed violets, and fresh sage—layered over graphite, cedar, and hints of wild mint. There’s a linear purity to its bouquet, evoking the cooler vintage’s precise conditions and Heitz’s insistence on native yeast fermentations, large-format aging, and minimal intervention. In the mouth, it is impeccably detailed—silky yet firm, never flashy, and all the more noble for its understatement.
The palate delivers dark cherry, cassis, and black plum, laced with dried herbs, tobacco leaf, and that signature Rutherford dust. What makes this wine magnetic is its architecture: lithe and vertical with a vibrant acid spine, sculpted tannins, and a finely tuned finish that sails with freshness. It is not a Cabernet that tries to impress by sheer scale; it impresses by coherence, finesse, and a kind of intellectual clarity rare in wines at this price point.
The 2021 vintage benefited from a dry growing season that favored concentration and small berries, yet Heitz managed to preserve levity and lift—testament to dry farming, organic viticulture, and judicious blending from across Napa Valley’s most prized AVAs. Aged for 18 months in a mix of large-format French oak and neutral casks, the wine has absorbed structure without overt oak flavor, allowing site and varietal to speak clearly.
At 14.5% alcohol, it never feels hot or fatiguing. Instead, it pulses with life—a Cabernet Sauvignon that will cellar gracefully over the next 10–15 years yet is thrilling right now with a decant. A rare achievement in restraint and expression, this is one of Napa’s great values and a model for what disciplined winemaking and classic Napa fruit can yield. Heitz once again proves that tradition is not nostalgia—it is clarity of purpose.
Alcohol: 14.5%
On the nose, the 2021 opens with striking aromatic clarity—red currants, crushed violets, and fresh sage—layered over graphite, cedar, and hints of wild mint. There’s a linear purity to its bouquet, evoking the cooler vintage’s precise conditions and Heitz’s insistence on native yeast fermentations, large-format aging, and minimal intervention. In the mouth, it is impeccably detailed—silky yet firm, never flashy, and all the more noble for its understatement.
The palate delivers dark cherry, cassis, and black plum, laced with dried herbs, tobacco leaf, and that signature Rutherford dust. What makes this wine magnetic is its architecture: lithe and vertical with a vibrant acid spine, sculpted tannins, and a finely tuned finish that sails with freshness. It is not a Cabernet that tries to impress by sheer scale; it impresses by coherence, finesse, and a kind of intellectual clarity rare in wines at this price point.
The 2021 vintage benefited from a dry growing season that favored concentration and small berries, yet Heitz managed to preserve levity and lift—testament to dry farming, organic viticulture, and judicious blending from across Napa Valley’s most prized AVAs. Aged for 18 months in a mix of large-format French oak and neutral casks, the wine has absorbed structure without overt oak flavor, allowing site and varietal to speak clearly.
At 14.5% alcohol, it never feels hot or fatiguing. Instead, it pulses with life—a Cabernet Sauvignon that will cellar gracefully over the next 10–15 years yet is thrilling right now with a decant. A rare achievement in restraint and expression, this is one of Napa’s great values and a model for what disciplined winemaking and classic Napa fruit can yield. Heitz once again proves that tradition is not nostalgia—it is clarity of purpose.
Alcohol: 14.5%
94 POINTS - "Dark fruit aromas of blackberries, bitter chocolate, dried herbs, blackcurrants, black olives and graphite. The palate is full-bodied with a textural, rounded mouthfeel and finely integrated tannins, leading to a savory, fruit-driven finish." - James Suckling
93 POINTS - "The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is fabulous. Plump and vibrant, with good up-front fruit and bright acids, the 2021 captures the essence of modern classicism that is typical of the Heitz wines today. This is a superb entry-level offering from Heitz. Floral overtones brighten the finish." - Vinous
93 POINTS - "The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is fabulous. Plump and vibrant, with good up-front fruit and bright acids, the 2021 captures the essence of modern classicism that is typical of the Heitz wines today. This is a superb entry-level offering from Heitz. Floral overtones brighten the finish." - Vinous
The 2021 vintage across Napa Valley was marked by a second consecutive year of drought conditions, resulting in lower-than-average yields and smaller berry sizes. While dry, the vintage was largely without extreme heat events, allowing for extended hang time and even ripening. These conditions led to wines with intense concentration, depth of flavor, and vibrant natural acidity. The resulting Cabernet Sauvignon showcases the best of the vintage—purity, balance, and age-worthy structure—true to Heitz Cellar’s house style.