Napa Valley Cabernet: Best Coombsville 2018 wines
The wines from Napa's newest AVA can be powerful and burly but fresh and vibrant, discovers Matthew Luczy. See his pick of the best from the 2018 vintage...
Coombsville is Napa’s newest sub-AVA, established in 2011.
At the southeastern corner of Napa Valley, it enjoys increased exposure to the cooling influence of San Pablo Bay.
Scroll down for the top-scoring Coombsville 2018 wines
Daytime temperatures are as much as 5°C cooler than the rest of the valley. Many early plantings were based around Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Amphitheatre-like and tucked into the Vaca Range, the soils include rocky gravel, alluvial deposits and volcanic loam.
Stylistically, the wines split the difference between the svelteness of the valley floor and the rusticity of mountain appellations. They are powerful and burly but fresh and vibrant.
Napa Valley Cabernet: Full 2018 vintage report
Like the rest of Napa, 2018 in Coombsville was a vintage of extended hang-times and slightly higher yields.
‘The crop came in heavier than the year prior, 15-20% more than 2017. I wouldn’t call 2018 a warm vintage like 2016 or 2017, where you had triple-digits temperatures. It was much more moderate’, says Leo Tellez, winemaker at Sodaro.
‘Our harvest started on 28th September and wasn’t over until 3rd November. It wasn’t that the fruit was dehydrating, it just needed time. The pH of the wines was really interesting; the sugars were coming up but the pHs didn’t shift. It was one of my longest harvests ever.’
Quick links
Individual AVA analysis and top-scoring wines coming soon:
Calistoga, Howell Mountain, Mount Veeder, Oakville, Rutherford, St Helena, Stags Leap District
Indications of the high quality harvest extended beyond grapes. Renowned winemaker Andy Erickson has land in Coombsville, commenting that ‘we have orchards and gardens on our property. All the fruits and vegetables were delicious all summer long. That’s a good sign.’
Classic Coombsville vineyards include Farella, Meteor, Sodaro and Butala.
See the top-scoring Coombsville 2018 wines
See also
Decanter Premium Collector’s Guide: Napa Valley
The rise of US urban wineries
California Cabernet 2016: Panel tasting results
Meteor Vineyard, Special Family Reserve, Napa Valley, Coombsville, California, USA, 2018
The Special Family Reserve takes Meteor vineyard to another level entirely, and is unquestionably one of the definitive wines of the Coombsville appellation. Exotic, enthralling...
2018
Meteor VineyardNapa Valley
Sodaro, Estate Cabernet, Napa Valley, Coombsville, California, USA, 2018
Quintessentially Coombsville on the nose, which combines freshness with opulent black fruits, tying them together with a sturdy, graphite-laden core. Utterly seamless on the palate,...
2018
SodaroNapa Valley
Meteor Vineyard, Perseid, Napa Valley, Coombsville, California, USA, 2018
Meteor has been a top Coombsville source since its planting in 1999. Typical of this appellation, Perseid is massively blue and purple on the nose...
2018
Meteor VineyardNapa Valley
Farella, Napa Valley, Coombsville, California, USA, 2018
Contains vines dating back to 1979. Farella has long been a source for top names in Napa, seeking the freshness typical of the Coombsville appellation....
2018
FarellaNapa Valley
Sodaro, Felicity Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Coombsville, California, USA, 2018
A beautifully deep nose of bramble-laden dark fruits, coal and fiddlehead ferns. The plate is extremely rich and velvety, coated with dark chocolate, fig paste...
2018
SodaroNapa Valley
Castello di Amorosa, Butala Vineyard, Napa Valley, Coombsville, California, USA, 2018
The nose here is uniquely savoury and meaty with an herbal, rocky core. The freshness of Coombsville is intact on the palate, with great persistence...
2018
Castello di AmorosaNapa Valley
Bougetz, Eminence, Napa Valley, Coombsville, California, USA, 2018
Black-and-purple-fruited aromas supported by damp earth and dried tobacco. Supple, plush and round on the palate, leading to a finish that is both high-toned and...
2018
BougetzNapa Valley
Rocca, Collinetta Vineyard, Napa Valley, Coombsville, California, USA, 2018
Inky and jet-black on the nose, with a dried-flower, herbal tinge. Round, smooth and plush on the palate but shifts into an extremely dry, tannic...
2018
RoccaNapa Valley
Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards, Coombsville, Napa Valley, Coombsville, California, USA, 2018
Aged in 55% new French oak. Dried aromas of figs, prunes and clay dust on the nose. Flavours of black liquorice, cranberry and red plums....
2018
Anderson's Conn Valley VineyardsNapa Valley
Purlieu, Teucer, Napa Valley, Coombsville, California, USA, 2018
The alcohol content here is hard to look past, but behind it there are dusty black fruits, tobacco smoke and crushed rocks. The palate is...
2018
PurlieuNapa Valley
