Hestan Vineyards Stephanie Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
(Napa Valley, California) - [JS 92] [WE 91]

About the Winery:
Hestan Vineyards was born from the culinary passion of Stanley Cheng and his wife, Helen. This husband and wife team has combined innovation and passion to create award winning wines. Stanley pioneered hard-anodized cookware in the 1970s and has continued to improve the ways we cook through innovations and he keeps that innovation going through his wines.

The Hestan and Meyer labels are the product of renowned winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown, with the philosophy that quality wine begins in the vineyard. The Stephanie wines are named for the owners’ daughter, a concert harpist. They are artfully crafted by winemaker Jeff Gaffner and offer a virtuoso expression of the site’s varietal composition. Jeff began his career at Chateau St. Jean working with legendary winemaker Richard Arrowood to produce the winery’s celebrated 1996 Cinq Cepages, named Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator Magazine. Over the years, Jeff has developed a reputation as a master-blender and specialist both in the vineyard and cellar. He has received critical acclaim for his site-expressive winemaking and signature elegant style.

About this Wine:

Tasting Notes:
On the nose, the wine shows dark black fruit, plum, blackberry, and cassis. The palate exhibits black fruits, blueberry, cocoa, coffee and red cherry licorice. The wine has a soft finish with a nice hint of acidity and shows a deep brooding vanillin and cocoa as it finishes.

Ratings & Reviews

92 Points - James Suckling:
"Spicy and dark-fruited with bruised cherries, currants, red licorice and bark undertones. Broad and velvety with a full body and powdery tannins. Long and balanced. Drink or hold." (Mar 2024)

91 Points - Wine Enthusiast:
"Densely textured and full of black-fruit flavors, this full-bodied wine coats blackberries and blueberries in rather thick but soft tannins, setting it up for a dinner paired with rich proteins. Enticing cinnamon and cedar aromas echo on the finish." - Jim Gordon (Dec 2023)