Thomas Rivers Brown’s Cabernets, Jeff Gaffner’s Stephanie, and library releases back to 2008. The three bottles our October 9 masterclass took home lead the way, then everything else still in the shop.

Gordon Valley, Napa Valley

Hestan: The Cookware King’s Hidden 240-Acre Estate

The Pedigree

Meyer Vineyard: No. 8 In Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines Of The World

Winemaker Of Hestan & Meyer

Thomas Rivers Brown: At Least 60 100-Point Wines, And Counting

Winemaker Of Stephanie

Jeff Gaffner: Maker Of The 1996 Cinq Cépages, Wine Spectator’s Wine Of The Year

A Personal Note

Dear Artisans,

On October 9 we opened Napa’s hidden Hestan estate at our masterclass table: ten wines across all four labels, library releases galore, poured side by side. Collectors came in curious and left with cases.

Three wines ran away with the evening, and we have 36 bottles of the 2009 Stephanie Proprietary Red, 24 of the 2018 Hestan Cabernet and 24 of the library 2017 Meyer Vineyard Cabernet. They lead this email, followed by every other Hestan, Stephanie and Meyer bottle still in the shop.

If you missed the masterclass, this is the table, without the ticket.

The Cookware King’s Hidden Estate

Stanley Cheng founded Meyer Corporation U.S. in 1981 and built it into America’s largest cookware company; he is the man behind the first flat-bottom wok for Western stoves. Hestan is named for HElen and STANley.

In 1996 the Chengs bought a 240-acre former cattle ranch hidden in Gordon Valley, on Napa’s remote eastern slopes, planted the first vines in 1998 and bottled a first vintage in 2002. Today 110 acres are planted, and the estate makes about 6,000 cases a year across all four labels. Then Stanley did what empire-builders do: he hired the very best hands money can hire.

Two Legendary Winemakers

For the Hestan and Meyer Cabernets: Thomas Rivers Brown, the Schrader, Outpost and Rivers-Marie legend, Food & Wine’s 2010 Winemaker of the Year, with at least 60 100-point wines to his name, and counting. His Meyer Cabernet was ranked No. 8 in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of the World.

For the Stephanie label, named for the Chengs’ daughter, a concert harpist: Jeff Gaffner, who started at Chateau St. Jean in 1981 under Richard Arrowood and helped make the 1996 Cinq Cépages, Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year. He launched Saxon Brown in 1997, and the Chengs hired him in 2004 to launch Stephanie.

Why The 2009 Sold Out The Room

Of everything we poured, the 2009 Stephanie was the wine people kept coming back to. Seventeen years in bottle, and it is sitting at the peak of its life.

But this is a long summit, not a sharp one. It should keep exploding with flavor, texture and bouquet for another five years, so you can open one this Thanksgiving and another in 2030 and catch it at its best both times. A decade of bottle age in one glass is the clearest lesson there is in when to open your own.

James Tran

Artisan Wine & Spirits

Why This Matters

The Ten Wines At A Glance

The three masterclass best sellers first, then the rest of the estate.

Masterclass Best Seller No. 1 · 36 Bottles

Stephanie 2009. At Its Peak.

Jeff Gaffner’s Bordeaux blend, seventeen years in bottle, on a long summit.

Library 2009Jeff GaffnerPeak Drinking

Stephanie Proprietary Red 2009

Stephanie by Hestan · Napa Valley · 750 mL

This was the bottle of the night. A Bordeaux-style blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Merlot with Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc, aged 28 months in French oak, made by the Wine of the Year winemaker for the Chengs’ own family label.

At seventeen it is sitting at an incredible peak: mouth-filling cranberry, dried raspberry, lavender, violet and cola, lifted through the finish by lingering sweet oak tannins. And it is a long summit. It should keep exploding with flavor, texture and bouquet for another five years, so buy enough to open one now and still have bottles at their best in 2030.

No critic scored the 2009 that we can find; the 91 above is the current 2018 vintage, for reference.

Masterclass Best Seller No. 2 · 24 Bottles

Hestan Cabernet 2018. The Flagship.

Thomas Rivers Brown’s estate Cabernet: Wine Enthusiast 94, James Suckling 93.

Thomas Rivers Brown100% CabernetEstate Flagship

Hestan Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Hestan Vineyards · Napa Valley · 750 mL

The estate flagship, and the wine that closed the masterclass. One hundred percent Cabernet Sauvignon, every block kept separate through fermentation, then 20 months in 85% new French oak. These are the hands behind Schrader.

Jim Gordon called it worth an investment and put its best years at 2030 to 2040, so this is the bottle to lay down by the case.

Masterclass Best Seller No. 3 · 24 Bottles

Meyer Vineyard 2017. The Library Meyer.

The vineyard Wine Spectator ranked No. 8 in the world, by Thomas Rivers Brown.

Library 2017Thomas Rivers BrownWS Top 100 Vineyard

Meyer Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

Hestan Meyer Vineyard · Napa Valley · 750 mL

Meyer Vineyard is a single block on the estate, just below Helen and Stanley’s home. From these grapes Thomas Rivers Brown made the 2014 that Wine Spectator named the No. 8 wine in the world on its Top 100 of 2017.

The 2017 is 100% Cabernet, 18 months in 70% new French oak: black cherry, red currant, cassis and cigar box, then blackberry cobbler, ripe plum and tobacco on seamlessly integrated tannins. Nine years on, it is a library Meyer to open tonight.

Still In Stock

The Rest Of The Estate

The 2008 library Stephanie, three more Meyers and Stephanies, and the two whites.

Library · The Oldest On The Table

Stephanie 2008. Eighteen Years On.

The 2009’s older sibling, for the collector who wants the whole run.

Library 2008Jeff GaffnerBordeaux Blend

Stephanie Proprietary Red 2008

Stephanie by Hestan · Napa Valley · 750 mL

The oldest wine we poured on October 9. A different blend from the 2009, with more Petit Verdot: 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Petit Verdot, 16% Merlot, 12% Malbec and 5% Cabernet Franc, in 50% new oak.

Pour it beside the 2009 and you have two library vintages of the same wine, the clearest lesson there is in when to open your own. The 91 above is the current 2018, for reference.

Thomas Rivers Brown · Three 92s

Meyer Vineyard 2018. Triple 92.

James Suckling, Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator all agree.

Thomas Rivers Brown100% Cabernet4,300 Cases

Meyer Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Hestan Meyer Vineyard · Napa Valley · 750 mL

Three critics, three 92s. The 2018 Meyer spent 23 months in 85% new French oak: black currant, cassis, plum and licorice on the nose, ripe plum, graham and brown sugar on the palate.

Wine Spectator’s window runs through 2034 and Wine Enthusiast’s opens this year, so it is entering its drinking window right now.

Thomas Rivers Brown · James Suckling 93

Meyer Vineyard 2019. The Top Score.

The highest-rated Meyer in the shop.

Thomas Rivers Brown100% CabernetJS 93

Meyer Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

Hestan Meyer Vineyard · Napa Valley · 750 mL

The 2019 earned the highest score of any Meyer here: crushed blueberries, ripe plum, sweet vanilla and coffee, with a juicy-fruit core and a touch of minerality.

A young sibling to the library 2017, and a fine way to taste what two more years in bottle does to Thomas Rivers Brown’s Meyer.

Jeff Gaffner · James Suckling 92

Stephanie Cabernet 2018. Broad And Velvety.

Gaffner’s Cabernet-led Stephanie, 27 months in French oak.

Jeff Gaffner78% CabernetJS 92 · WE 91

Stephanie Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Stephanie by Hestan · Napa Valley · 750 mL

78% Cabernet Sauvignon with Petit Verdot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, 27 months in 50% new French oak. Dark black fruit, plum, blackberry and cassis, then blueberry, cocoa and coffee with a soft finish.

Wine Enthusiast set it up for a dinner paired with rich proteins; this is the Stephanie for steak night.

Jeff Gaffner · James Suckling 91

Stephanie Red 2018. Cabernet Franc Leads.

The current Stephanie Proprietary Red, ten vintages after the library pair.

Jeff Gaffner31% Cabernet FrancJS 91

Stephanie Proprietary Red 2018

Stephanie by Hestan · Napa Valley · 750 mL

The modern Stephanie flips the recipe: 31% Cabernet Franc leads, with 22% Petit Verdot, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Malbec and 8% Merlot, 27 months in French oak.

Line it up against the 2008 and 2009 and you have the Stephanie story across a decade: the library pair at their peak, and the 2018 at the start of its climb.

Thomas Rivers Brown · 400 Cases

Hestan Chardonnay 2021. The State Dinner Label.

The Hestan Chardonnay was poured at a White House state dinner.

Thomas Rivers BrownUnfiltered400 Cases

Hestan Chardonnay 2021

Hestan Vineyards · San Francisco Bay · 750 mL

The label poured at a White House state dinner for President Obama and China’s President Hu Jintao. Thomas Rivers Brown makes it unfined and unfiltered, aged on the lees in 25% new French oak; just 400 cases.

Vanilla, pineapple, honeysuckle and lemongrass, then lemon cream, guava, green apple and ripe pear on a precise thread of acidity. Your Thanksgiving white.

Thomas Rivers Brown · 170 Cases

Sauvignon Blanc 2024. The Opener.

James Suckling 92, and only 170 cases made.

Thomas Rivers Brown170 CasesJS 92

Hestan Sauvignon Blanc 2024

Hestan Vineyards · Napa Valley · 750 mL

The wine that opened the masterclass. Picked at night, whole-cluster pressed cold, then six months in half stainless steel and half neutral French oak. Only 170 cases.

Citrus zest, lemon verbena and orange blossom with pineapple and Honeycrisp apple. The most affordable way into Thomas Rivers Brown’s cellar.

The Bottom Line

The masterclass already picked the three to take home.

A cookware fortune, a hidden Gordon Valley ranch, and two of the best winemakers in California: at least 60 100-point wines on one side, a Wine of the Year on the other. Hestan is the estate the insiders whisper about.

Start with the 2009 Stephanie at $69.99, at its peak with five good years still ahead, the 2018 Hestan Cabernet at $129.99 for the cellar, and the library 2017 Meyer at $71.97 for tonight. The rest of the estate runs from $39.99.

Cheers,

— James Tran

Artisan Wine & Spirits

Artisan Wine & Spirits · 2495 Old Middlefield Way, Mountain View, CA 94043
Questions? Chat Live · sales@artisan.wine · 650-917-8080