Heitz Wine Cellars Heitz Cellar Trailside Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 750ml

Fresh, with racy red currant, Damson and red cherry fruit flavors running through. Flecked with light savory notes and hints of sassafras, with an iron note lacing the piercing finish. Latent grip too, so cellar for maximum effect. Drink now through 2035. 2,500 cases made. (James Molesworth)

Stylish, with sleek, racy mulberry and warmed cassis notes that are nicely defined, laced liberally with red tea, anise and apple wood. Shows subtle mesquite, mint and iron flashes in the background throughout. Nicely done for the vintage.

Marked by scents of bay leaf, sage, cherries and cassis, the full-bodied 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Trailside Vineyard is dense but with a classic linear Cabernet structure. Quite sculpted and fresh for valley-floor fruit, it’s focused and long on the finish, gently dusty but firm. Once a walnut grove, the vineyard extends from the Silverado Trail down toward the Napa River, with this bottling using fruit from both the rocky, lower bench section of the vineyard near the road and a sandier parcel closer to the river.

Hearty and full-bodied, this black cherry and blackberry-scented wine is braced by moderate tannins and good acidity for a sense of freshness despite its big size.