Favia, Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley 2020

Favia, Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley 2020

Favia Winery was founded in 2001 as a partnership between Annie Favia and her husband Andy Erickson. Annie is a passionate viticulturist and a true nature lover whereas Andy is a highly regarded winemaker in Napa who serves as a consultant for prominent wineries including Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle, Harlan, and Staglin, among others. Located in Coombsville, Napa Valley, their philosophy is straightforward: crafting soulful wines that genuinely reflect the unique character of the vineyards they originate from.

The wines focus on two grape varieties that thrive in the Napa Valley: Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. These chosen vineyard sites represent the most compelling soils and aspects of Coombsville and have a rich story to tell. The team uses keen eyes, sharp ears, organic and mindful farming practices, where the smallest details make the difference. In the winery, gentle handling, minimal intervention, and strict monitoring of the wine make it possible for the beauty of the Napa Valley terroir to show in the wines.

Their pure Cabernet Sauvignon from Coombsville represents the best expression of the historic, however newly ascendant, appellation in the southeast corner of the Napa Valley. Its gravelly, volcanic soils and proximity to San Pablo Bay combine to lend the wines an old-world quality, delivered at an impressive level of concentration and depth.

The 2020 vintage

Weather conditions

2020 Favia Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon is a triumph and a proud marker of what was indeed a challenging year in the Napa Valley, and the entire world. The growing season arrived in the midst of a prolonged California drought. The preceding winter brought very little rain. Depending on location and water availability, by mid-season vigor ranged from very low to moderate. Dry conditions and bountiful sunshine meant that the wines were going to be dark and concentrated. The dramatic fires that affected the northern half of Napa Valley were far from the quiet southeastern corner of the Valley, home to the Coombsville appellation. This, and the timing of the events, made it possible for our winemaking team to diligently assess the impacts, and to carefully harvest and ferment each of our parcels separately. In the end, a careful selection process led to a small bottling of our Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon.

Tasting notes

The wine indeed confidently expresses the vintage—it is dark black-purple in color, quite opaque, and possesses a solid backbone of structure and tannin. Aromatically, it expresses everything we enjoy about wines from Coombsville, with notes of red and black fruits, mineral, graphite, and savory spices. On the palate, this young wine is firm but broad, with the fruit character rushing across the palate and lingering for minutes.