Heitz Cellar Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

Fresh in feel, offering a modestly juicy mix of red and black cherry and currant notes dotted with light elements of apple wood and cedar along the way. The structure turns a touch taut through the finish, but there's good energy. Drink now through 2035. 692 cases made.

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is a pretty rich wine for Heitz. Dark fruit, spice, leather and chocolate are all dialed up in this juicy, succulent Cabernet. The 2019 is a wine of transition at Heitz. It is the first vintage in which a part of the wine was aged in casks (new at the time), which left some uncharacteristic wood notes in the wine that show up in its racy personality. There's certainly plenty to like.

Yes, it is still possible to get a balanced, cellar-worthy Napa Cab for under a hundred. Heitz's 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon accents just-ripe cherries with scents of dried herbs and mint, then offers a medium to full-bodied sensation on the palate, marked by gentle tannins. Ripe and fairly forward, with a softly dusty finish, this can be consumed young, or any time over the next decade or more.