2017 Heitz Cellar, Linda Falls Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, California, USA

Rich black fruits, mint, velvety tannins and a seamless texture add up to great polish and balance in this full-bodied but sleek and elegant wine.

Aged in tight-grain oak for two years, this wine had two years in the bottle and one less year in the barrel than all the other single vineyard Cabernets from Hetiz. Aromatically brilliant with dark berry fruits, chocolate shavings, ironstone, white pepper, cedarwood and capsicum. Full-bodied and oozing blackberry fruit. It boasts a fine, powdery tannin quality similar to Martha’s but with a more gritty texture and earth.

Howell Mountain has so much power and structure that even more time in the bottle will help soften its edges. Linda Falls Vineyard is a 2.8-hectare site on Howell Mountain developed in 2002. Winemaker Brittany Sherwood says that Heitz first produced a Linda Falls Cabernet in 2013 after finally realising the potential of this site, which gets early morning sun, as opposed to afternoon sun, and requires long hang times for grapes to reach phenolic maturity.

Lawrence Wine Estates CEO Carlton McCoy MS describes Linda Falls as a wooded area with an actual waterfall and says that Heitz gave some of the land back to the Napa Land Trust so the public could access the waterfall.

Drink 2023 - 2040

Well-built, with a tar and apple wood frame that melds nicely with the core of dark currant and plum sauce. Shows a sleek graphite-edged structure, which provides the spine with flecks of violet and hibiscus, adding floral lift in the background. Solid.

Drink 2024 - 2040