The 7 Best Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Bottles to Drink Now in 2025
Hesten Vineyards, Stag’s Leap, AXR
Napa Valley is small, only 30 miles long and 5 miles wide, yet it has the largest reputation of any American wine region. It was California’s first recognized AVA in February 1981, but winemaking here goes back to 1839 when George Calvert Yount, the founder of Yountville, planted the first vineyard in the valley. Covering 225,280 acres of land, the Napa Valley AVA is home to 45,000 acres of vines and its top five varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Sauvignon Blanc.
Napa Valley is the source of some of the world’s best and most sought-after Cabernet Sauvignon. When a label states that a wine is from Napa Valley it could be made from grapes sourced from different vineyards across the valley or simply that the winemaker (and marketing team) felt using the Napa Valley name offered better visibility (or marketability) than using the specific AVA or specific vineyard name. But rest assured, by law at least 85 percent of the grapes used must be grown in Napa Valley. In the past some of the larger wineries might have purchased grapes from California’s central valley, Lodi, or further afield but recently we’ve seen a good number of winemakers supplementing their Napa grapes with high-quality grapes from the Suison Valley AVA in Solano County, just east of the Napa Valley.
While the AVA boasts almost 500 wineries that produce thousands of different wines, here are the seven best Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons that are perfect to open right now. Or better yet, pick up a few bottles of the ones that appeal to you, open one up now, and revisit the others in a few years.
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Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 2021 Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon
Image Credit: Stag’s Leap Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars is well known for its award-winning wines made from grapes grown in the Stag’s Leap District AVA, but this well-priced wine is made from grapes sourced from Coombsville, Saint Helena, Wooden Valley located in the Suisun Valley, Calistoga, Stag’s Leap District and Atlas Peak. A blend of 98 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and soupçons of Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Merlot, it is aged for 15 months in one-third French oak. Aromas of blueberry, violet, and ripe black fruits draw you into the glass for flavors of blackberry, black plum, pencil lead, and cinnamon at the very end.
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Hestan Vineyards 2018 Meyer Cabernet Sauvignon
Image Credit: Hestan Vineyards Helen and Stanley Cheng purchased a former cattle ranch in 1996, planted 110 acres of Bordeaux varieties, and thought it would be fun to name their winery using a combination of their first names. This stunning wine is from the 2018 growing season, well known for late bud break and flowering, but the summer brought ample sunlight and heat to ripen the grapes. Harvest occurred in the early fall with the individual lots picked separately then fermented separately in small capacity tanks. The wine was aged in 85 percent new French oak barrels and 15 percent neutral oak. It is inky purple in the glass and opens with aromas of blackberry, cassis, anise, and licorice. On the palate there is bright acidity and flavors of black cherry, ripe plum, caramel, brown sugar, and finely ground white pepper. Opulent tannins slowly recede to reveal a spicy finish. Drink this Hestan now or lay down for a few years.
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Etude 2018 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Image Credit: Etude Founded in 1982 Etude’s primary focus was to make world-class Pinot Noir, but thankfully they also make wine from Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The home estate is Grace Benoist Ranch in Carneros, but this tasty wine is made with grapes grown in Rutherford, Oakville, and Coombsville. It is about 96 percent Cabernet Sauvignon with just under 4 percent Petit Verdot and has aromas of crushed violet petals, cassis, and graphite that transition to black raspberry, cedar, tobacco leaf, and black currant all wrapped in silky smooth tannins.
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Quilt 2018 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Image Credit: Quilt The name Quilt refers to the winemaking team’s practice of sourcing grapes from a patchwork of prime Napa Valley vineyards. In addition to this well-made reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, the team also makes an entry-level Cab and delightful Chardonnay. Quilt 2018 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon has aromas of cherry, dark chocolate, vanilla, and toasted hazelnut. It has velvety soft tannins and flavors of blackberry preserves, black cherry, and cassis.
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Raymond 2019 Generations Cabernet Sauvignon
Image Credit: Raymond The Raymond family founded its eponymous vinyards and established their 90-acre Rutherford estate in 1970. Today the estate is owned by Jean-Charles Boisset and consists of 300 acres in Rutherford, Jameson Canyon, and St. Helena. This beautiful wine is made from a blend of fruit grown in Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena, and Yountville. It has aromas of black olive tapenade, black cherry, cassis, and espresso bean with silky soft tannins and flavors of pipe tobacco, black raspberry, black plum, and bright red cherry.
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Pellet Estate 2019 Pellet Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
Image Credit: Pellet Estate Winemaker Tom Rinaldi cut his teeth at Freemark Abbey then became the founding winemaker at Duckhorn Vineyards. He currently consults for other wineries but enjoys making wine from the Pellet Vineyard, which is known for its alluvial gravel and rocky loam soils. After the 2019 harvest, the grapes were cold soaked then gently pressed and transferred to French oak barrels. They were allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation and additional aging in barrel then two years of bottle aging before release. Deep ruby in the glass, this enticing Cabernet Sauvignon has exuberant aromas of blackberry, red raspberry, cedar wood, dark chocolate, and a touch of bramble. It is crisp, clean, and elegant with well-integrated acidity. Well-polished tannins form a sheath around flavors of blackberry preserves, pomegranate, cranberry, red plum, and milk chocolate with just a touch of rose petal and fennel pollen in the juicy finish. Drink this now and over the next 15 years.
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AXR 2021 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Image Credit: AXR AXR is a totally geeked-out name for a winery based on the Aramond x Rupestris vine rootstock that was planted in Napa’s first vineyards. The owners and winemaking team chose to pay homage to tradition while utilizing innovative modern techniques in the cellar to craft well-made wines from grapes grown in Napa Valley’s diverse soils. The consulting winemaker is Jean Hoefliger, who makes naturally fermented wines in small, handcrafted lots. The 2021 AXR Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon has aromas of cigar box, cinnamon, and ripe black fruits with pleasantly grippy tannins and flavors of sweet plum, pencil lead, black raspberry, and black cherry.
