Hewitt Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (torn labels) 2013
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Hewitt Cabernet Sauvignon is very age-worthy, however, if you can’t wait to drink it, we suggest decanting to allow the flavors to evolve and reveal their great complexity and elegance.
Pair with: boldly flavored entrées, aged cheeses or whatever excites your palate.
Blend: 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is a brilliant wine from this well-placed vineyard in Rutherford, sitting right on the so-called Rutherford Bench, with a history of vines having been planted there as far back as 1880. There are 2,646 cases of this wine, which is a blend of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot that was aged 21 months in 85% new French oak. It is a big wine (15.3% natural alcohol) but shows no heat or hotness whatsoever. Dense purple to the rim, it offers a stunning nose of loamy soil, scorched earth, blackberry and black cherry with some allspice, clove and subtle oak. Hitting the palate, it’s clear the wine has great intensity, a full-bodied mouthfeel, superb richness and moderate tannin. A classic 2013 as well as a classic wine from Rutherford, it should be given 4-5 years of cellaring and drunk over the following 30 years.
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James Suckling
This is very serious with a focus of blue fruit and a black-olive character. Full-bodied, tight and chewy with a tannin and fruit balance that peels away at the finish. A very serious Napa cab. Classic style with a modern focus. Drink in 2022.
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Wine Spectator
A firm, rich, gutsy style that's dense, extracted, layered and persistent, driven by a core of dusty, loamy earth notes and dark berry, cherry, currant and anise flavors, yet what's most impressive is the push on the finish, where the flavors run deep and long. Best from 2020 through 2032.
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Wine Enthusiast
Sizzling acidity lies beneath a density of ripe, smooth and rounded texture, the dusty flavors rich in black cherry, berry and dark chocolate.
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Connoisseurs'
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The historic Hewitt Vineyard resides on the famed Rutherford Bench, a narrow ribbon of gravel-rich alluvial soils on the western side of the Napa Valley that has - since the late 1800s - produced California's best Cabernet Sauvignon.
William Hewitt purchased this property in 1962 and received guidance in planting the vineyard from legendary Beaulieu Vineyard (BV) winemaker André Tchelistcheff. BV purchased Cabernet Sauvignon from Hewitt Vineyard and included it in its top wines for many years. When Hewitt Vineyard was offered for sale in 2000, Chalone Wine Group President Tom Selfridge, who began his career at Beaulieu and knew first-hand the vineyard's extraordinary quality, jumped at the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to add this treasure to the company's portfolio.
Today, Hewitt Vineyard produces only estate Cabernet Sauvignon from its extraordinary property. Through this exclusive focus, Hewitt is a leader in Rutherford's winemaking renaissance.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
The Rutherford sub-region of Napa Valley centers on the town of Rutherford and covers some of Napa Valley’s finest vineyard real estate, spanning from the Mayacamas in the west, to the Vaca Mountains on the other side of the valley.
Inside of the Rutherford AVA, bordering the Mayacamas, is a stretch of uplands called the Rutherford Bench. (These bench lands technically run the length of Oakville as well). Mountain runoff creates deep, well-drained, alluvial soils on the bench, giving vine roots plenty of reason to permeate deep into the ground. The result is wine with great structure and complexity.
Rutherford Cabernet Sauvingons and Bordeaux Blends garner substantial attention for their enticing fragrances of dusty earth and dried herbs, broad and juicy mid-palates and lush and fine-grained tannins. The sub-appellation claims some of the valley’s most prized vineyards today, namely Caymus, Rubicon and Beckstoffer Georges III.
It is also home to Napa’s most influential and historic personalities. Thomas Rutherford, responsible for the appellation's name, made serious investments here in grape growing and wine production between the years of 1850 to 1880. Gustave Niebaum purchased a large swath of land and completed his winery in 1887, calling it “Inglenook.” Today this remains the oldest bonded winery in California. Georges Latour founded Beaulieu Vineyard in 1900, making it the oldest continuous winery in the state. Latour also hired the famous enologist, André Tchelistcheff, a man credited for single-handedly defining the modern Napa winemaking style.