95pts James Suckling

So strong but subtle and silky on the surface and muscular underneath. Very concentrated, tight and powerful, with mineral, iron, cocoa and chalk flavors on a foundation of superfine, powdery tannins. It’s pretty but dense, beautifully concentrated, full-bodied and well balanced.

Winemaker Notes

The 2022 The Pact is perfectly balanced between the plush character of a warm season and the vibrant freshness that the Coombsville location always delivers. The nose opens with generous aromatics—expressive dark fruit seasoned with a medley of spices and intriguing botanicals, the vineyard's distinctive star anise giving way to savory undertones of dried sage and the wild herb notes the French call garrigue. In the mouth, the wine is supple but focused, its fine-grained tannin structure wrapped in thin velvet. Bright acidity lifts the palate and adds a textural interplay, carrying juicy luxardo cherry and black currant flavors into a finish savory with the graphite that is always the mark of the vineyard.

Blend: 98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot

Winemaking Notes

Our 2022 The Pact is perfectly balanced between the plush character of a warm season and the vibrant freshness that our Coombsville location always delivers. The nose opens with generous aromatics—expressive dark fruit seasoned with a medley of spices and intriguing botanicals, the vineyard's distinctive star anise giving way to savory undertones of dried sage and the wild herb notes the French call garrigue. In the mouth, the wine is supple but focused, its fine-grained tannin structure wrapped in thin velvet. Bright acidity lifts the palate and adds a textural interplay, carrying juicy luxardo cherry and black currant flavors into a finish savory with the graphite that is always the mark of our vineyard.
THE VINTAGE
The winter of 2022 delivered the third season of progressively drier weather in Napa Valley, with mild temperatures through spring and early summer that spurred budbreak and bloom ahead of schedule while encouraging healthy cluster and canopy development. August notched warmer temperatures still, pushing sugar development through the arc of the season until a late-summer heat spell lengthened into a challenging event. Our cool Coombsville location, though—coupled with proactive misting and irrigation—slowed the ripening process. And with a dramatically cooler October that allowed picking-choice hangtime on the vines, the historically long growing season delivered a wine of generosity paired with fresh vitality, and enviable complexity with balance.

COOMBSVILLE, NAPA VALLEY
Napa Valley's Coombsville AVA is the southernmost—and coolest— growing region for Cabernet Sauvignon. Nestled into an ancient volcanic caldera, its bowl-shaped depression captures the fog and cooling breezes that funnel off nearby San Pablo Bay, setting up a long, slow growing season that builds vibrant balance in the wines. Striking volcanic soils add a polished, fine-grained tannin structure and savory minerality. In fully expressing the land in this special corner of Napa Valley, we are able to craft a true modern classic.