Winemaker Notes
A deep garnet core speaks to the power of this 2020 vintage from Paul Hobbs' Nathan Coombs Estate. Lush ripe blackberry and black currant aromas are joined by dark chocolate with hints of leather and sweet tobacco on the nose. The vineyard’s signature graphite and anise spice follow on the palate. This is a bold and structured red, complex and layered yet lifted with the freshness and energy of the cool, southern Napa Valley site.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A firm and refined red with black currants, chocolate and thyme. Licorice. Medium body, lovely tannins. Balanced and refined. So drinkable. Comparable to excellent cabs from the 1980s.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Nathan Coombs Estate is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (like the Coombsville bottling) but sees 90-95% new French oak. The resulting bouquet offers scents of cedar and vanilla but also hints of sage and menthol, plus a solid underpinning of black cherries and cassis. Full-bodied, plush and velvety, there's even a hint of blueberries on the palate, before dusty, astringent tannins clamp down on the finish.
Rating: 95+? -
Vinous
The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Nathan Coombs Estate is one the wines of the vintage. Dark, potent and virile, the 2020 possesses tremendous depth from start to finish. Black cherry, mocha, chocolate, plum, dark spice and leather are all amplified. The 2020 is not as savory as it usually is, but that is likely because heat and drought baked out the nuances.
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Wine Spectator
Juicy and focused, with a taut beam of dark plum and dark currant fruit laced with licorice root, sassafras and cast iron notes. Sneaky long and focused, with a finishing kick of mulberry and anise adding range. Drink now through 2038. 470 cases made.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Nathan Coombs Estate boasts a deep purple hue as well as a beautiful bouquet of ripe plums, cassis, graphite, celery seed, and scorched earth. Coming from the cooler Coombsville appellation in the southern part of the valley, it’s medium to full-bodied, has a dense, powerful, almost chewy profile, ripe tannins, and nicely integrated acidity. It needs 3-4 years of bottle age to round into form and I suspect will be long-lived.
Rating: 92+
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.