Heitz Cellars Tasting hosted by TCWC

Simon, Gerard and Silas of The Chicago Wine Company hosted another virtual tasting, this time inviting Erik Elliott, Estate Director, of Heitz Cellars to present and discuss some of these iconic California wines. Once again, four ounce sample bottles were delivered a day before the event, so I assume that as with previous tastings they have presented, the samples were bottled two days before the event. About twenty minutes before the Zoom event began, we poured our share of the samples into our glasses to let the wines breathe and open up. We each had two ounces in our Bordeaux-style stems.

We do not taste a lot of Heitz wines, though I have picked out the Martha's a few times in double blind tastings within our groups- it is just so iconic and unique- and even come within a year of the correct vintage on a couple of occasions. I was unaware that in 2018 the Heitz family passed the torch to the Lawrence family, who rely on Brittany Sherwood to make the wines in the same style as Joe and David had made for decades prior. Brittany began at Heitz in 2012 and took over for David shortly thereafter, and 2015 was her first vintage at the helm. Comparing the 2015s in this lineup to the slightly older versions confirms these are true to the style. Another fact I was unaware of but glad to learn, was that Jack Neal & Sons, now Mark Neal, have farmed the Heitz vineyards since the beginning.

We literally have only a couple of bottles of Trailside and couple of Martha's in our cellar and after the tasting tonight Domino asked why we had so little. I suppose it is because we don't see it on the shelves very often, or if we do we just don't notice it, so it really hasn't been on our radar. Tonight confirmed that stylistically the wines appealed to us, as our notes indicate, so we will definitely need to make a better effort to source these for our cellar, as they are certainly deserving of the space.

Erik was terrific as a presenter. He was incredibly thorough and very knowledgeable, and offered many salient points regarding the enjoyment of wine, such as enjoying wines young if that's what your palate prefers. Clearly very passionate, I hope this is not the last time we are able to listen to him talk shop. We progressed through the wines individually in the order listed, but because Domino and I had poured all at once, we were able to sip and compare the pairs of Trailside and Martha's, which is always fun.

On to the notes...

• 2016 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Lot C-91 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  One hundred percent cabernet sauvignon from various estate vineyards in the Rutherford, Oakville, Howell Mountain and St. Helena AVAs- many of the same vineyards as the original bottling of C-91 made from the 1969 vintage. A four ounce sample poured off two days prior. Purplish crimson color with aromas of black and red berry fruit, rosemary, pine needles and plum. Full-bodied. Flavors of red fruit, rosemary and herbs, with a long finish. Picks up clay and pine sap notes as it sits in the glass. As we finish the last sips about ninety minutes in we note a strong bay leaf quality on the palate. Excellent. 92-93+ pts for me; 93+ for Domino.

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• 2010 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Trailside Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

  One hundred percent cabernet sauvignon from Rutherford. Heitz purchased the vineyard in 1984 and released their first from the 1989 vintage. A four ounce sample poured off two days prior. Deep crimson color. Opens with the Rutherford dust, followed by red berry fruit, sage and bay leaf. Full-bodied. Flavors of red fruit, bay and vanilla. As presenter Erik Elliott commented, there’s terrific density here. Becomes more dark-fruited as it sits, adding spice notes as well. Excellent. On the young side, I’d suggest another five years in the cellar. Erik stated Trailside can generally be expected to be a 25-45 year wine. 93+ pts for me and 92+ for Domino.

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• 2015 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Trailside Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

  One hundred percent cabernet sauvignon from Rutherford. Heitz purchased the vineyard in 1984 and released their first from the 1989 vintage. A four ounce sample poured off two days prior which has now been in our glasses for about an hour. Opens with a floral quality, followed by aromas of Provencal herbs, red fruit, bay leaf and dusty earth tones. Full-bodied and dense with firm, youthful chalky tannins and flavors of red fruit and herbs. Ninety minutes in, this has become more black-fruited, the herb tones are quite prominent, and there’s just the slightest hint of bitter chocolate as well. Aged three years in a mix of new and old French oak barrels ranging from 228L to 12,000L, with an additional two years of aging in bottle before release. Already quite nice, but young. Hold to 2027+. 92 for me, 93 for Domino.

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• 2007 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  One hundred percent cabernet sauvignon from the famed Oakville vineyard. A four ounce sample poured off two days prior which has now been in our glasses for a little over an hour. Deep crimson red color with aromas of macerated red berries, eucalyptus, black fruit and bay leaf. Full-bodied and well-balanced, with abundant red and black fruit on the palate. This has an elegant, silky texture. Becomes more perfumed as it sits in the glass, adding subtle floral notes under the herb and eucalyptus. Lingering finish. Has more of what I am going to call a "woodsy depth" than the younger 2015 tasted alongside. Though this well-aerated sample is drinking well, I would continue to hold this wine, say 2027+. 95 pts for both Domino and I.

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• 2015 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  One hundred percent cabernet sauvignon from the famed Oakville vineyard. A four ounce sample poured off two days prior which has now been in our glasses for about one and one-third hours. Dark crimson color. Aromas of red and black fruit with subtle hints of the telltale eucalyptus fading in and out of the background. Over the next forty minutes the eucalyptus gains strength, but less leafy/herbal and almost more of an essential oil kind of way, if that makes sense. Full-bodied, but already silky and seamless despite its youth. Red fruit and herb flavors abound, carrying the long finish. Clearly young, albeit enjoyable, but I'd suggest holding until 2030+; plenty of potential though. 93+ for me, 94 for Domino.

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Many thanks to Erik Elliott and the team at TCWC for putting on another terrific virtual tasting. If you have the opportunity to participate in these TCWC events, it is well worth your effort and resources to do so. I believe the video of this event will also be posted on TCWC's youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0wJqI8MPp6eWLF0Y04fR3A/videos), and it would be worth your time to watch (and also all of the prior tastings).