Moët Hennessy’s Estates & Wines division is targeting a renaissance for its Newton Vineyard winery in the Napa Valley, focused on boosting the quality of its Cabernet Sauvignon Unfiltered ($60).

While Newton has had ample success in recent years with its Chardonnay Unfiltered (around $60), Estates & Wines CEO Jean-Guillaume Prats tells SND there’s plenty of potential to take the Cabernet program to new heights.

This past summer, Prats installed a new estate director at Newton, Rob Mann, formerly of Moët Hennessy portfoliomate Cape Mentelle in western Australia’s Margaret River region. Previously, Newton’s Cabernet Sauvignon Unfiltered has been crafted only from its original Spring Mountain Vineyard source. Now, the brand’s sourcing will also include fruit from Moët Hennessy’s Chandon Napa holdings in Mount Veeder and Yountville, allowing it to hedge against uneven weather conditions amongst the vineyards, vintage to vintage. “That’s a big evolution,” Prats explains. “The ambition is to reestablish Newton as one of the top five or six wineries for Cabernet in the Napa Valley.”