Napa, March 2024: Heitz, Duckhorn, Hall
Napa
Tasted Tuesday, April 30, 2024 by rnjbond with 126 views
Introduction
Went for a guys' trip to Napa and hit up three wineries over the course of the day.
Decided, for better or worse, to start with the most expensive tasting and work our way down.
Heitz, then Duckhorn, then Hall.
Flight 1 - Heitz Cellars (4 Notes)
Started off strong with Heitz, which is absolutely incredible. Did the reserve tasting. The winery is beautiful, our hostess was very nice, and I thoroughly enjoyed all the wines and wish I could have more!
My favorite was the Linda Falls, which is a Howell Mountain wine. absolutely beautiful.
Flight 2 - Duckhorn Vineyards (6 Notes)
Moved onto Duckhorn. I'll be honest, I've heard mixed things about Duckhorn and never had a full bottle of the flagship wines, but part of my bias comes from the prevalence of Decoy, which isn't a bad wine, but also isn't my favorite. Duckhorn pleasantly surprised me. I enjoyed all the wines, although I would say it was a notch below Heitz.
Never heard of The Discussion before, but that was easily my favorite of the Duckhorn wines.
Flight 3 - Hall Winery (5 Notes)
Finished the day at Hall. I've been here before and it's a beautiful winery, but I don't understand the positive ratings for the wine. The wines are merely okay, there were a couple I dumped out. Service leaves a lot to be desired. I don't understand how some of these wines retail for $250+; I would pay maybe $50 for those wines.
Closing
Easy ranking of the three wineries: Heitz, Duckhorn, Hall. I would easily go back to the first two, but doubt I'll go back to Hall for the wine, though I may bring out-of-town visitors that are only interested in the scenery.
2018 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Trailside Vineyard 90 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
Tasted at the winery.
Dark cherry, slight peppery notes, higher in acidity.
Already drinking nicely and a great way to start a flight.
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2018 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Linda Falls 93 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
Tasted at the winery.
Probably my favorite wine of the tasting, even ahead of Martha's Vineyard. I might have a slight bias towards Howell Mountain wines, though.
Slight ash, dark plum.
Easy to pick out as a Howell Mountain wine on the nose.
Long finish.
93 points.
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2018 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard 91 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
Tasted at the winery.
The first of the two Martha's Vineyard wines.
Dark plum, cassis, green bellpepper (almost jalapeno).
High tannins, nice acidity.
Definitely will improve over time.
91 points.
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2010 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard 92 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
Tasted at the winery.
Definitely more mellow than the 2018.
Dark plum, dark cherry, blueberry, green bellpepper.
Mellow tannins and balanced acidity.
I think this is nicely in its drinking window, although it may improve further from here.
92 points.
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