2013 Hestan Vineyards Stephanie Malbec

Hestan Vineyards is at the base of Okell Hill in Napa Valley. It was founded in 1996 when Stanley and Helen Cheng purchased property and planted vineyards. The couple named the estate by mixing their first names, and they have acquired additional property over the years. The 127-acre ranch includes nearly 60 acres of vineyards planted primarily to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cab Franc and Malbec. Hestan’s debut wines were 2002 Cabernet Sauvignons. Noted Napa winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown has been working with Hestan since the 2009 vintage. The estate makes Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux-style blends, and Chardonnay.

Napa Valley AVA is the most famous winemaking region in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. With nearly 43,000 acres of vineyards and more than 300 wineries, it is the heart of fine wine production in the United States. Winemaking started in Napa in 1838 when George C. Yount planted grapes and began producing wine commercially. Other winemaking pioneers followed in the late 19th century, including the founders of Charles Krug, Schramsberg, Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyards. An infestation of phylloxera, an insect that attacks vine roots, and the onset of Prohibition nearly wiped out the nascent Napa wine industry in the early 20th century. But by the late 1950s and early 1960s Robert Mondavi and other visionaries were producing quality wines easily distinguishable from the mass-produced jug wines made in California’s Central Valley. Napa Valley’s AVA was established in 1983, and today there are 16 sub-appellations within the Napa Valley AVA. Many grapes grow well in Napa’s Mediterranean climate, but the region is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay is also very successfully cultivated, and about 30% of the AVA’s acreage is planted to white grapes, with the majority of those grapes being Chardonnay,

This grape produces a dark red wine with plenty of tannins. It is one of the six grapes allowed for blending red Bordeaux wines. Malbec is also the flagship variety of Argentina. The grape needs a lot of sun and heat to mature. It adds complexity and intensity to blends.