By Favia Wines
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville Napa Valley

Source
Our offering of pure Cabernet Sauvignon from Coombsville represents our best expression of the historic, newly ascendant, appellation in the southeast corner of Napa Valley. We have been working with vineyards in this area for nearly two decades, and it is home to our winery. It's gravelly, volcanic soils and proximity to San Pablo Bay lend the wines an old-world quality, delivered with an impressive concentration and depth. 2021 was a vintage defined by small crops and great intensity. The growing season was dry, but relatively mild temperatures in Coombsville made for wines with varietal correctness and remarkable balance and precision.

Vintage
The 2021 growing season occurred during a multi-year drought in California. With very little winter and spring rain, the vines worked hard to develop canopies and, in the end, set a relatively small crop. Luckily, summer temperatures were relatively mild, with only a couple of days with peak temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees C). This meant the fruit matured slowly, and fruit quality at harvest was balanced and concentrated. In fact, the fruit's ample sun exposure led to remarkable phenolic development, with the grapes at harvest showing a very dark color and highly structured tannins. The harvest arrived relatively early, and at Favia, we began harvesting our Oakville fruit on September 7. The mild temperatures allowed us to continue harvesting methodically for over a month, with the last Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon coming into the winery on October 13. This long harvest gave us a broad spectrum of blending components with which to craft our 2021 wines. Across the board, the 2021 wines from Favia show great depth, pleasant natural acidity, and strong varietal expression. The vintage shows all the power and richness expected from Napa Valley, and with a tannic backbone that will allow the wines to age for decades to come.

Production
Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Aging: 22 months in 50% new French oak
Bottling: No fining or filtration, one year of aging in the bottle

Tasting Notes
Dark color and a solid structural framework provide the foundation for a wine that shows the full spectrum of this noble variety - bay leaf, blackberry, graphite, oolong, and fresh red cherry are just a few of the descriptors that come to mind. Twenty-two months of barrel aging helped round the tannins, and bottling without filtration or fining ensures the true expression of the vineyard and variety is what lands in the glass. This wine should age in a bottle for easily two decades or more.
[Information provided by Huneeus Wines]

Wine: FAVIA Cabernet Sauvignon, Coombsville 2021
Score/Rating: 98
Suggested Drinking Window: 2026 - 2048
Review Date: 11/2024
Reviewed By: J. D'Angelo
Tasting Notes: The 2021 Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon is a luxurious wine that captivates with its rich and enticing aromas. The nose is an exquisite blend of ripe blueberries, blackcurrants, and cassis, harmoniously complemented by the sweetness of black cherries and delicate violets. Notes of tobacco and savory herbs intertwine with hints of graphite and smoke, adding depth and intrigue to the bouquet. On the palate, this full-bodied Cabernet is polished and dense, showcasing a concentrated core that is both opulent and layered. The wine strikes a remarkable balance, offering freshness that lifts its statuesque profile as it heads into the long, lingering finish that echoes the dark fruit and subtle earthy nuances. This is a knockout wine from Favia that has the potential to age beautifully for many years, allowing its flavors to evolve beautifully over time.

Wine: Favia, Cabernet Sauvignon, Coombsville, Napa Valley, California, USA 2021
Score/Rating: 98
Suggested Drinking Window: 2024 - 2040
Review Date: 05/13/2024
Reviewed By: Jonathan Cristaldi
Tasting Notes: Sourced from three Coombsville vineyards: Meteor, The Rabbit Hole, and Collinetta. A glass-staining ruby-purple colour. Intensely aromatic blackberry and cherry fruits are pure, precise, and layered with fragrant cedarwood notes, white pepper, and dark chocolate. Full-bodied with unctuous and concentrated dark berry fruits that have a satiny quality, framed by velvety fine-grained tannins and gobs of red liquorice, aromatic violets, and graphite. So dense and tightly packed and yet so fresh and inviting.

Wine: 2021 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville
Score/Rating: 98
Suggested Drinking Window: 2027-2052
Review Date: 02/07/2024
Reviewed By: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Tasting Notes: Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville explodes with bombastic notes of creme de cassis, black cherry preserves, and boysenberries giving way to nuances of cedar, graphite, and lavender oil. The full-bodied palate is jam packed with intense black and blue fruit layers supported by a solid line of firm grainy tannins and amazing tension, finishing long and with wonderful purity.

Wine: Favia 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville
Score/Rating: 97
Suggested Drinking Window: 2026 - 2036
Review Date: 12/2023
Reviewed By: Antonio Galloni
Tasting Notes: The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, offers tons of nuance and Coombsville character. Savory and wonderfully deep, the 2021 captures all the pedigree of this great vintage. Lavender, crushed rocks, graphite and rose petals all run through this fleshy Cabernet Sauvignon.

Wine: Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Coombsville 2021
Score/Rating: 97
Review Date: 11/22/2023
Reviewed By: James Suckling
Tasting Notes: This is full of aromas of lead pencil, black berries and black currants. Deep and dark. Full to medium body, with juicy and layered tannins and a flavorful finish. Very grapey. Precise and focused. Real Coombsville character. Drinkable and will age beautifully.

Wine: 2021 Favia Erickson Winegrowers Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville
Score/Rating: 96+
Suggested Drinking Window: 2027 - 2045
Review Date: 10/17/2024
Reviewed By: Joe Czerwinski
Tasting Notes: The muscular 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville features aromas of pencil shavings, crushed stone, cassis, dried thyme and sage. This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is full-bodied, concentrated and firmly tannic but also juicy and long on the finish. Great potential here, just be patient.

Wine: 2021 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville
Score/Rating: 96+
Suggested Drinking Window: 2023 - 2053
Review Date: 12/26/2023
Reviewed By: Jeb Dunnuck
Tasting Notes: The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville is all varietal that, like all these latest 2021s, was brought up in 50% new French oak. It has more blue fruit as well as a full-bodied, incredibly layered style in its full-bodied aromas and flavors of graphite, scorched earth, tobacco, and obvious minerality. It's a big, concentrated 2021, but it nevertheless holds onto a beautiful sense of freshness and balance, which is what I think sets this vintage apart. As with the La Magdalena, it's not for the instant gratification crowd, since it probably won't hit full maturity until a decade after the vintage, but I'd be shocked if it didn't have 30 years of overall longevity.

Wine: Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville 2021
Score/Rating: 96
Suggested Drinking Window: Drink now through 2040
Review Date: 11/15/2024
Reviewed By: James Molesworth
Tasting Notes: A gorgeous red, with a deep well of black currant preserves, steeped plum and blackberry reduction moving in lockstep, while warm earth, cast iron, sweet bay and tobacco elements flash throughout. Offers a lovely violet echo on the finish, which shows suave polish while staying grounded in its terroir. Best from 2026 through 2040.

Wine: Favia, Coombsville - Napa Valley (California) Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
Score/Rating: 94
Review Date: 01/29/2025
Reviewed By: Roger Morris
Tasting Notes: From Coombsville, Napa Valley’s hottest old-but-new Cabernet region, the wine has lots of creamy red fruit, but with a lovely savory, earthy, persistent finish, and walnut-flavored tannins. There is also a dense, gingerbread texture that adds to its complexity. It will improve with age.

Wine: Favia Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 Coombsville
Score/Rating: 17+/20
Suggested Drinking Window: 2028 - 2041
Review Date: 09/10/2025
Reviewed By: Samantha Cole-Johnson
Tasting Notes: 50% new oak. Deep purple. Pretty spot-on ideal Cab Sauv with ample freshness and verve. Nice spice and layered, powdery tannin with a dry finish. Savoury earthiness to the finish. (SCJ)