November 11, 2023 - Five hour decant. Terrifically deep dark intense magenta color. Blackberry, blueberry, peony, honeycomb, cayenne-infused milk chocolate muffin, and subtle dried mushroom. Dry, plush palate, with silty acidity. Firm, lower intensity tannins on the longish finish.
This is impressive, especially considering how young it is. It’s a wine you’ll want to swim in. Comes across as very pure and unforced.
March 26, 2023 - Five hour decant. Nearly opaque purplish magenta color. Blueberry, blackberry, violet, chocolate truffle, sarsaparilla, lemony pound cake, cream soda, and subtle cinnamon. Dry, satiny, full bodied palate, with mouth coating acidity. Firm, voluptuous tannins on the long finish.
Elegant, but with somewhat muscular structure. This is still youthful, so score is likely to improve. #1WINELOVER and MAXIMUM SATISFACTION were right on the money.
November 24, 2022 - Purchased just once, big Sam fan and was pleasantly surprised. This is a wine that will only improve (no great statement) with 3-5 years and could easily see it garnering another 2-3 points, but extremely drinkable right now.
Gave it about 6hrs of decant time and it was ready to go, even wife was ecstatic with it.
May 20, 2022 - Friday Night Brown Bagger (R&R's): Double blind. Opaque inky color. Aromas of black fruit, chocolate and brown sugar. Big and tannic. The palate mirrors the bouquet. Long finish. It can't be anything but young Napa cabernet. (R&R)
November 18, 2021 - More full bodied and concentrated than last time around. Loads of dark fruit, milk chocolate, cassis and mineral. No real sharp edges tonight but still structured and in need of time.
October 28, 2021 - This is a special wine from a special vineyard, tucked in the Vaca Mountains above St. Helena and Calistoga. I will refrain from providing much detail as you can just read CSIMMs review. He is spot on.
I will say that my 1st glass PnP was very good and it got better with time during the coarse of the night. On day 2, it was fabulous. It had tension, it was a dark brooding wine yet Sam Kaplan tamed it well enough that it was semi-light on its feet.
Dark fruit, dark chocolate, mineral and earth notes throughout. I begged the winery for a 3-pack since they were sold out and they were gracious especially since I am not on their allocated list.
Again, this is a special and memorable bottle of wine and different from all of the other Napa Cabs that sometimes merge together at all different price points.
97-98 points.
August 18, 2021 - Another outstanding showing on this wine, with meaty black berry, dark earth, char, embers, unsmoked cigar, and spice captivating the palate immediately upon first sip. The attack is strong but smooth, with a weighty texture that doesn’t drag nor exhibit excess bulk. Finishes savory and chewy.
I am a definite fan of this wine and its profile; a great combination of deeply pitched fruit and black soil/earth elements. There is a gothic edge that I am particularly drawn to here, with a cave-like expression that never comes across murky or cloudy.
A few months ago, the bottle served at the Estate had a curiously biting funk aroma. However, this time around the nose was more effusive with fruit and spice scents, sans the pungent and heady earth aromatics.
This was served next to a 2015 Purlieu, which showed much hotter and blasted than the better-honed Arkenstone. This wine is certainly enticing now and also has the tension and frame to hold for the longer haul. Those who have a historical affinity for the Arkenstone Estate will find the Heimark a bit more strapping and beefy by comparison. 95-97 points depending on how hefty you like your mountain Cabernets.
June 7, 2021 - Decanted 3 plus hours. Red fruited with dusty earth, tobacco, cassis and mineral. Bright with smooth tannins and moderate acid. Stylistically reminds me of something like Greer. Needs time but not shut down at this time.
April 30, 2021 - 3 days in Napa: Arkenstone, Memento Mori, Maxem, The French Laundry, Christopher Tynan, Kinsman, Harlan, Vice Versa, Accendo, Fairchild, Macdonald, and a truckload of others (Napa): Instantly yummy, with an added dark and serious streak that is certainly attention-grabbing. A textural masterpiece, with fine-grained tannins offering the perfect frame and speed by which to carry the alluring unripe blackberry, black cherry, wet soil, and subtle spice notes. Complexity and intensity are elevated by the superb semi-chewy grip. Sumptuous and deep while also holding wonderful freshness, especially for being a darker-profiled wine. Extra tension on the back end pushes the finish on and on. This was the clear standout in the lineup. Drink now with some air or follow it over the next decade to track its evolution. 95-97+ point potential. Excellent.
It’s worth noting that the nose on this wine gave off a bit of funky earth and feral berry aromas, which sparked a brief discussion at the table among those of us noticing it. I wasn’t personally put off by it and found that the palate, which was completely unphased by the earthy scents in terms of having any question about purity or soundness, rolled right on into exhibited quality characteristics from the front end of the attack to the back.
April 22, 2021 - Heimark is new as a SVD in 2018 for Arkenstone. Apparently this used to be part of blends and Sam decided it was good enough for its own bottling. Although I didn't realize it beforehand, the vineyard appears to also make its own wine, which I see here on CT.
For me, this wine was a tale of two very different parts. I thought the nose was a bit funky and I couldn't put my finger on what it was that turned me off a bit. It still had nice floral notes, but there was a lingering aroma that I couldn't get past. That said, on the palate it was hitting all the right notes. Chocolate, blackberry, herbs, char and mineral driven flavors came together with nice concentration to really make an impression. This is a dark wine, with mostly black fruit, and it shows a gravely profile that seems made to gain complexity. It's spicy, with a well developed middle and long end. If it weren't for the aroma issue this would be 96+ for me. Perhaps a one off or I was having a bad day.