98pts Jeb Dunnuck

A new cuvée from this team, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Steltzner Old Vines comes from vines planted in 1981, and there are a scant 100 cases produced. It’s a textbook example of this great vintage, offering loads of tobacco, white flowers, and leafy herbs, full-bodied richness, loads of blueberry and cassis fruits, and a rich, opulent, sexy style that’s rare to find in the vintage. Made from 100% Cabernet aged 18 months in 75% new barrels, enjoy this classic Napa Valley red any time over the coming 20+ years.

Winemaker Notes

Introducing our inaugural Steltzner vineyard designate, which embodies the axiom that exceptional Cabernet sites not only deliver jaw-dropping pleasure, but also imprint indelible accents of their origin in the glass. This is a handsome, graceful wine draped with raspberry, violet, bay laurel and laced with a flint-like minerality and verve. A brilliant illustration of the marginally cooler Stags Leap District, our Stelztner bottling concludes with measured hints of cedar and graphite outlined by an alluring finesse.