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HEITZ CELLAR
— St. Helena, Napa Valley · Est. 1961 —
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| Saturday · May 16, 2026 |
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From the Judgment of Paris
to the Vintage of a Lifetime
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The 2021 Heitz Napa Cabernet has arrived — and 10 cases stand between you and a Father's Day worth remembering.
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99 Points
— Decanter Magazine —
"Remarkably pure and fresh. Pristine black cherry and blackberry, layered with beautiful violet aromas. Everything builds with precision and focus..."
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Fifty years ago this very month — May 24, 1976 — nine French judges sat down in Paris for a blind tasting that would rewrite the wine world. Among the six California Cabernets that humbled Bordeaux that afternoon was the 1970 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard. Heitz wasn't simply present at the Judgment of Paris. Heitz helped define it.
Half a century later, that same estate has just released what I believe is the single most quietly important Cabernet on the market right now: the 2021 Heitz Cellar Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
With Father's Day three weeks away and graduation season upon us, the timing could not be more perfect. This is the bottle for the Dad who already has the watch. For the grad who's beginning their cellar. For the collector who recognizes a once-in-a-decade vintage when it lands in their inbox.
We have 10 cases. They will not survive the weekend.
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Secure Your Allocation
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— The Vintage —
2021: Napa's Vintage of a Lifetime
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— What The Critics Are Saying —
"The greatest Napa vintage in a generation."
A historic drought year. Tiny yields. Concentration that arrives once a generation. Vinous awarded the vintage 98 points. Wine Spectator gave it 97. These are the years collectors hunt for twenty years later — and pay five times retail to find. The 2021 vintage will be talked about the way collectors still talk about 1990, 1997, and 2013. Get in now, or pay later.
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— The Accolades —
Five Critics. One Verdict.
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99
Decanter
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94
Spectator
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94
Suckling
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93
Wine Advocate
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93
Vinous
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99 Points
— Decanter · Jonathan Cristaldi, March 2025 —
"Remarkably pure and fresh. Pristine black cherry and blackberry, layered with beautiful violet aromas. Everything builds with precision and focus, supported by gorgeously firm, taut, mineral-rich tannins that bring energy and drive. The wine is compact and tightly wound at this youthful stage, its intensity truly emblematic of the vintage."
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94 Points
— Wine Spectator · November 2025 —
"Ripe, fresh and focused, with a lovely beam of red currant plum coulis that stretches out alongside hints of savory, violet, tobacco and singed cedar. Finishes with a late twang of iron. Nicely done. Drink now through 2038."
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94 Points
— James Suckling · May 2025 —
"Dark fruit aromas of blackberries, bitter chocolate, dried herbs, blackcurrants, black olives and graphite. The palate is full-bodied with a textural, rounded mouthfeel and finely integrated tannins, leading to a savory, fruit-driven finish. Delicious."
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93 Points
— Robert Parker's Wine Advocate · October 2025 —
"Classically proportioned, with cedar, vanilla and black cherries all delivered via a medium- to full-bodied palate. It shows excellent structure for an entry-level wine, firm but approachable, with a lengthy finish. It should be a steakhouse staple."
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93 Points
— Vinous · Antonio Galloni, December 2024 —
"Fabulous. Plump and vibrant, with good up-front fruit and bright acids, the 2021 captures the essence of modern classicism that is typical of the Heitz wines today. This is a superb entry-level offering from Heitz. Floral overtones brighten the finish."
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— The History —
A Pedigree You Cannot Manufacture
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Heitz Cellar was founded in 1961 by Joe and Alice Heitz. By 1966, they had released America's first vineyard-designated Cabernet Sauvignon — the now-mythic Martha's Vineyard. They didn't follow the playbook. They wrote it.
Then came 1976. The blind tasting in Paris. The 1970 Heitz Martha's Vineyard stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Mouton-Rothschild and Haut-Brion — and the wine world has not been the same since. Heitz remains one of only a handful of producers from that historic tasting still making wine today.
In 2018, the estate began its modern chapter under the Lawrence family, with Master Sommelier Carlton McCoy as Managing Partner — one of the most respected palates in America — and Brittany Sherwood as winemaker, mentored directly by the Heitz family. The estate is now 100% organic and biodynamic.
This is not the Heitz of old. This is the Heitz of now — classically proportioned, structurally serious, and built for the cellar. The same DNA that beat Bordeaux in 1976 is in every bottle of the 2021.
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— The Value Case —
The Market Has Not Priced This Yet
Other Napa Cabernets with the same 99-point Decanter score from the 2021 vintage:
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| 2021 Napa Cabernet |
Market Price |
| Bond, Vecina |
~$915 / btl |
| Lokoya, Mt. Veeder |
~$580 / btl |
| Schrader, Beckstoffer To Kalon |
~$550 / btl |
| Shafer, Hillside Select |
~$400 / btl |
| Cliff Lede, Poetry |
~$375 / btl |
| Heitz Napa Cabernet |
$69.99 – $79.99 / btl |
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— Allocation Pricing —
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1 – 11 Bottles
$79.99 / btl
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12-Bottle Case
$74.99 / btl
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★ Collector's Tier — 2 Cases / 24 Bottles ★
$69.99 / btl
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Claim Your Cases Now
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— Exclusive For Case Buyers —
Buy a Case. Earn a Seat at the Rare Library Vertical.
Every customer who purchases one case or more receives a complimentary invitation to a private vertical tasting we are hosting — three Heitz library treasures you will not find on a retail shelf anywhere in America:
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1982 Heitz Bella Oaks
A library legend from the era that built the modern Napa cellar.
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1997 Heitz Martha's Vineyard
From one of the most acclaimed Napa vintages of the 20th century.
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2000 Heitz Trailside
A rare Rutherford bottling — singular site, singular soul.
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Forty years of Heitz history in a single afternoon. Details to follow upon purchase.
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— The Collector's Logic —
Why You Should Buy Two — Or Three — Cases
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I rarely recommend more than a single case of any one wine. The 2021 Heitz is the exception. Here is the logic three sophisticated buyers will recognize immediately:
Case One · Drink Now Through 2030
Decant and enjoy with the family this Father's Day, at graduation dinners, at the holiday table. At $69.99 on the collector's tier, you are pouring a 99-point Decanter Cabernet for less than most weeknight Pinots. Guilt-free pleasure.
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Case Two · Cellar for 2030 – 2040
This is the wine's peak window. Brittany Sherwood's structured, classically proportioned style is built for this exact window. Tannins integrate. Violet and graphite notes deepen. You will thank yourself in 2035.
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Case Three · The Long Hold
Fine wine remains one of the better-performing alternative asset classes of the past two decades. With the 50th anniversary of the Judgment of Paris being celebrated this very year and Heitz at the center of those celebrations, the cultural spotlight on this estate is brighter than it has been in a generation. A case of 2021 Heitz in 2035 will look the way a case of 1997 Heitz looked in 2010 — and that case is now four-figure-per-bottle territory.
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— The Drinking Window —
Built for the Long Haul
Drinking Window: 2025 – 2045+
Peak Years: 2028 – 2038
Verdict: Approachable now with a proper decant. Profound in a decade.
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— At The Table —
How To Drink It
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— Classic —
Dry-Aged Ribeye
Bone-in, finished with Maldon and rosemary butter. The pure cassis and graphite carry the marbling. A wine-and-steakhouse marriage older than time.
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— Cheese —
Aged Cheddar & Manchego
A five-year cheddar and a 12-month Manchego with quince paste and Marcona almonds. The wine's mineral spine slices right through the richness.
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— Vegan —
Grilled Portobello & Lentil Ragoût
Smoky charred portobello caps over a beluga lentil ragoût with caramelized shallots and thyme. The umami and earthiness mirror the wine's savory side beautifully.
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— Allocation Closing —
10 Cases. One Weekend.
When This Is Gone, It Is Gone.
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Secure Your Allocation
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To the cellar, and to the table —
James Tran
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HEITZ CELLAR · NAPA VALLEY · EST. 1961
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