1979 | Heitz Wine Cellar | Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

The deep, complex and utterly classic nose soars from the glass in a fully mature mélange of red and black cherries, cigar smoke, a touch of petroleum jelly, a beautiful base of Martha’s soil, fresh herbs, nutty overtones and just a touch of cedary wood.

Reviews:

• John Gilman: I cannot recall the 1979 Martha’s Vineyard having a great reputation- which is perfectly understandable, given that it came hard on the heels of the celestial 1978, which is surely one of the greatest vintages of Martha’s Vineyard ever produced- but this is a great wine and one of the great 'sleeper' vintages from the decade of the 1970s. The deep, complex and utterly classic nose soars from the glass in a fully mature mélange of red and black cherries, cigar smoke, a touch of petroleum jelly, a beautiful base of Martha’s soil, fresh herbs, nutty overtones and just a touch of cedary wood. On the palate the wine is deep, pure and full-bodied, with lovely plushness on the attack, a sappy core of fruit, a fine signature of soil, melting tannins and absolutely stunning length and grip on the classic finish. A beautiful, beautiful vintage of Martha’s Vineyard and one of my absolute favorites for current drinking.

• Decanter: This 1979 deserves to be better known as it's still formidably youthful, demanding several hours in the decanter to open up. When it does, the bouquet offers up a brilliant melange of crunchy blackcurrant, scorched earth, tobacco leaf and, yes, the signature eucalyptus notes for which Martha's Vineyard is so well known. On the palate the wine is virile, bright and dense, endowed with striking minerality. There's no hurry to drink up.

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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