Hestan Vineyards is a 41-acre vineyard located on Napa Valley's eastern slopes at the base of Okell Hill. Individually farmed blocks planted to all five Bordeaux varietals--Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec--blanket the rolling hills overlooking the vineyard's 11-acre pond.
Consulting winemaker Mark Herold began working with the Hestan estate in 2002, creating his hallmark opulent wines with the 2002 Hestan Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2002 Meyer Cabernet Sauvignon. Both were a critical success.
In 2005, winemaker Jeff Gaffner began the Stephanie project to showcase all five of the Bordeaux varietals planted at the estate. He produces a Stephane Red Wine, (Bordeaux blend) , Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon from the property.
This harvest (2009) Thomas Rivers Brown is taking over production of the Hestan wines from Herold. Considered one of the rising stars of Napa Valley, Thomas made history as the youngest winemaker to receive two perfect 100 point scores from Robert Parker.
Hestan Vineyards owner Stanley Cheng notes, "We feel very excited and privileged to have winemakers of such accomplishment interpret our vineyard's terroir in such wonderfully expressive styles. We think our entire portfolio of wines--Hestan, Meyer and Stephanie--will continue to improve with each vintage."