1981 | Heitz Wine Cellar | Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

The deep and very beautiful nose soars from the glass in a mix of red and black cherries, raw cocoa, eucalyptus, cigar smoke, cloves, new saddle leather, allspice and just a touch of cedar.

Reviews:

• John Gilman: The 1981 Martha’s Vineyard is an absolute classic vintage at its peak of maturity. The deep and very beautiful nose soars from the glass in a mix of red and black cherries, raw cocoa, eucalyptus, cigar smoke, cloves, new saddle leather, allspice and just a touch of cedar. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and very, very soil-driven, with tangy acids, melted tannins and absolutely perfect focus and balance on the brilliantly long finish. I cannot recall the 1981 Martha’s Vineyard having the reputation as one of the great vintages of this bottling, but this is clearly one of the legends.

• Wine Spectator: Minty, with rich herb, currant, coffee and chocolate notes that are elegant, refined and very complete for a wine this age. Turns a bit dry and tannic on the finish.--'81/'91 California Cabernet retrospective.

Producer Information

Heitz Wine Cellar is an iconic Napa Valley wine producer located just south of St Helena. It is most famous for its single vineyard wines made of Cabernet Sauvignon, and in particular the Martha's Vineyard wine, which is one of Napa's "Cult Cabernet" labels. The estate was founded by Joe Heitz in 1961. Heitz had been a professor in the enology department of California State University in Fresno, and had previously assisted the legendary pioneering California winemaker André Tchelistcheff at Beaulieu Vineyards. Wanting to begin his own project, Heitz bought eight acres (3.4 hectares) of vineyards that were mostly planted with the Italian Grignolino grape. Heitz Cellars continues to make a wine from this variety today. As with many Napa producers, Heitz's success has been associated with its flagship Cabernet Sauvignon wines. Heitz is the exclusive lease holder of the 35 acre (14 hectare) Martha's Vineyard in the Oakville AVA and has used its fruit to produce vineyard-designated varietal Cabernet Sauvignon wines from the 1966 vintage. The estate runs vineyards across the wider Napa Valley area, with sites in Oakville, Rutherford, St Helena, Howell Mountain, Oak Knoll District, and Calistoga. Until recently, Heitz generally shied away from using Napa's sub-AVA titles, choosing instead to use the more generic Napa Valley AVA along with the vineyard name. The style of Heitz's Cabernet Sauvignon wines has remained consistent over the years. The winery uses French oak over American, and fruit is harvested slightly earlier than much of the rest of the region, giving a wine that is slightly higher in acidity than most. Heitz makes a range of other wines from Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as from other classic Napa varieties like Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Zinfandel. Heitz was bought by Arkansas-based billionaire Gaylon Lawrence in 2018 and is now part of the Lawrence Family group of holdings which spans interests in agriculture and farming, banking and commercial real estate.

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