Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A leafy nose of tobacco, tomato leaf and bay leaf, along with notes of ripe black and blue fruit and chopped nuts. Full-bodied with fine, chewy tannins. Cashmere texture. Plenty of brooding dark fruit on the palate. Muscular and firm. Espresso and roasted sage comes through.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Meteor Vineyard comes from the cooler Coombsville region of Napa and spent 20 months in 60% new French oak. It has a Saint Julien-like purity and elegance in its cassis and currant fruit as well as complex notes of tobacco, earth, and violets. With medium to full body, terrific balance, and ultra-fine tannins, it’s a beautiful wine that’s going to evolve gracefully for 20-25 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Meteor Vineyard is a lovely cool-climate Cabernet. It has aromas of fresh black currants, graphite, black currant bud, cedar and red berry sparks. The full-bodied palate is concentrated but restrained, with minerally, crunchy black fruits, fresh and finely grained, finishing long on an iron note.
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Wine Spectator
Features jaw-dropping fruit, with boysenberry, açaí, plum and black currant notes stitched together seamlessly, inlaid with a graphite spine and backed by violet, anise and apple wood details on the finish. A large-scale version, showing cut, drive and freshness. Best from 2021 through 2032.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Coombsville may be noted as being one of Napa Valley’s cooler growing districts, but this ample, very rich Cabernet suffers from no lack of ripeness, and it is a mouthfilling wine of considerable substance and size. Although its riper aspects are indelible and with them comes a touch of heat at the finish, it is a relatively sturdy and structured look at the variety that, even if teasing with a good deal of frontal richness that will tempt some into early drinking, has the tannic foundation for long-haul aging and is destined to become more cohesive if set aside for another six to ten years.
Respect for the land
DuMOL is a “vineyard up” winery with a fully integrated approach to winegrowing and winemaking. DuMOL planted its high-density estate vineyards and has farmed many of California’s most renowned vineyards for more than two decades.
Commitment to craft
DuMOL sticks to what works and is focused on the fundamentals, finding inspiration in master, visionary producers around the world as DuMOL continually hones its craft—never imitating, ever refining.
Connected on a personal level
This is a project that comes from who the DuMOL team is and what they love. A deep connection is paramount: to the land, the wines, and the customers.
Heritage and experience
Founded in 1996, DuMOL is a latter-day pioneer in the Russian River Valley. Winemaker, Viticulturist and Partner, Andy Smith, farmed the region for nearly a decade before joining in 1999, and Associate Winemakers Julie Cooper and Jenna Davis, and Cellar Master Jaime Eufracio, have over 40 years combined experience at DuMOL.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Situated in the southeastern corner of Napa Valley in the Vaca range, the vineyards of the Coombsville AVA enjoy a long growing season mitigated by cool, San Pablo Bay fog.