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
Professional Ratings
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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.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon The Pact boasts a healthy ruby/purple hue and is perfumed, floral, and elegant, almost in the style of the 2019, with red and dark fruits, spice, and loads of charm. Medium-bodied and seamless on the palate, it has fine tannins, terrific balance, and impressive accessibility. A blend of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot, it was aged 22 months in French oak, 45% new.
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Wine Spectator
This shows generous, though soft, plum and acai compote flavors, along with the AVAs typical hint of cast iron, which gives support through the savory and ink-tinged finish. Nice effort. Drink now through 2032. 3,800 cases made.
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.