Our Wine

REVEALING NATURE’S BALANCE

In Coombsville, our signature cool climate is both an asset and a challenge. Here in this breeze-swept caldera, the vines take their time ripening; the hope is, not too much. In most years, the extended harvest at the end of the season comes as a blessing, and the wines—with mature tannins and complex flavors—are exceptional.

The 2019 growing season was just such a year. Even as the vines lay dormant in winter, a steady accumulation of rain through January replenished thirsty soils, priming the vineyard for the natural balance that vines in their third decade can achieve. In drought-plagued California, though, there can be too much of a good thing. February storms dropped 10 inches at Faust, and March rains brought 4 inches more. But the beautiful landscaping of our site, combined with fast-draining, rocky volcanic soils and our three creeks—burbling for weeks with the sound of running water—met the challenge, setting up the canopies for a healthy season. Soon, cool temperatures gave way to a short warm spell that cued bud break the second week in April, just a bit later than average.

Faust Vineyard’s longer hang time softens the tannins in our reds, with no danger in the coolness of losing the fresh acidity that marks our Cabernet Sauvignon. In the end, we took in a pleasing crop that yielded a 2019 The Pact with excellent concentration, pure and vivid fruit, and elegant structure.

THE PACT 2019

Situated on one of the coolest sites in the arc of Coombsville, our Faust Vineyard is a standard-bearer for the fresh and elegant wines this southern corner of Napa Valley is capable of producing. And The Pact, an intricate blend from the most distinctive micro-blocks on our benchlands—tiny sites where the effect of the region’s ancient volcanic soils is magnified—is a singular expression of Coombsville’s now-fabled Cabernet Sauvignon. We are proud to offer you our extraordinary 2019.

The Pact 2019 approaches the dark soul of Faustian legend with blueberry and blackberry aromas over a vein of crushed-rock minerality that gives way to haunting forest notes and hints of violet. The palate, with the texture of velvet—luxuriously dense—lines that core of blue-black fruit with the barest edge of bright cherry laced with dried tarragon and star anise. Silky tannins and generous ripe fruit linger through an endless, vibrant finish. There’s a long life ahead for this Cabernet.