Well-known winemaker Heidi Peterson Barrett has walked away from a 20-year gig as a winemaker at Napa Valley's Kenzo Estate over a disagreement with the owners about releasing the winery's 2020 reds.
The 2020 vintage in Napa Valley was interrupted by the Glass Fire, which burst out on September 27 and led to significant smoke over the valley for days. Most white grapes had been picked already but the fire started in the middle of Cabernet Sauvignon harvest season. Quite a few high-end wineries have chosen not to release a 2020 red wine because of fears of smoke taint.
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Just one example: Shafer Vineyards, which has for the past two years made the wines that sold for the most money at the Premiere Napa Valley wine auction, made no wine at all in 2020. In fact, the 2022 Premiere auction (where a Shafer 2021 Cabernet sold for $1260 per bottle) had only 21 Cabernets from 2020 on auction; normally the auction features about five times that many Cabernets from two years earlier.
The science of smoke taint is still developing. Some winemakers fear that smoke taint that isn't noticeable after fermentation may be perceived later as bound compounds in the wine are released.
Atsushi Akahane, executive vice president of Kenzo Estate, told Wine-Searcher he did not want to talk about the details of why Barrett, who is listed on the website as the winemaker, walked away from the gig. Akahane said that Barrett has been a consultant, and that for the past 15 years the winemaker has been Marc Nanes.
"Heidi is just a consultant, even though her position was, quote, winemaker," Akahane told Wine-Searcher. "We have a winemaker who is in charge of everything 90-95 percent every year. Heidi just stopped by just for the branding just like Michel Rolland. But actually (Nanes) is making wine every year."
Barrett told Wine-Searcher that in fact, she was running the winemaking.
"I've been their winemaker from the beginning and never was the consultant," Barrett told Wine-Searcher. "Very different from how Rolland works. Marc (Nanes) was named associate winemaker a couple years ago but was actually assistant winemaker since 2007. The website still calls me winemaker as I set the style and do the blends with Marc and have been ultimately responsible for wine quality, having final say from the beginning. Marc is not mentioned on their website but has been my assistant and a big part of our production team running the cellar crew. I will miss my production team going forward as we have created a long legacy of delicious wines during my time as winemaker there. On all the back labels is my signature as winemaker."
Barrett is one of the best-regarded consulting winemakers in Napa Valley. She works or has worked for an impressive roster of wineries including Amuse Bouche, Diamond Creek, Fantesca Estate, Grace Family Vineyards, Lamborn Family Vineyards, Paradigm and Showket Vineyards. She was the first winemaker for Screaming Eagle and also owns her own label, La Sirena. Robert Parker once called her "the First Lady of wine." She is married to Bo Barrett, winemaker for Chateau Montelena.
Heidi Barrett said none of her other Napa clients made red wine in 2020.
"I would like it to be public knowledge that I did not make the 2020 reds," Barrett told Wine-Searcher.
Kenzo Estate is owned by Kenzo Tsujimoto, founder of the game company Capcom. Capcom bought a 1500-acre estate in the southeast corner of Napa Valley in 1990, but its plans fell through and Tsujimoto bought the land from his company to create an estate winery. He hired vineyard consultant David Abreu and Barrett as a Napa winemaking "dream team."
Not releasing a red wine from a vintage, even a potentially troublesome one, is a very expensive decision. Kenzo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 had a release price of $280, and it also made two proprietary red blends, Murasaki (also $280) and Rindo ($130). Kenzo Estate reportedly makes about 20,000 cases of wine per year, much of which is sold in Japan. The Wine Advocate gave Kenzo Estate's 2019 Cabernet a score of 95+.
