Paul Hobbs - Cabernet Sauvignon Nathan Coombs Estate 2016
Price: $475.00
| Producer | Paul Hobbs |
| Country | United States |
| Region | California |
| Subregion | Napa Valley |
| Varietal | Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Vintage | 2016 |
| Sku | 05395 |
Paul Hobbs Description
Growing Season
The 2016 growing season was cooler on average than the previous three vintages, with lower temperatures during the day and cooler nights. Although harvest started a week earlier than average, weather remained stable throughout the growing season. No significant heat spikes took place during the ripening phase, yet fruit came in all at once over a two to three-week period. Overall, the vintage delivers optimal quality and an expressive fruit profile.
Winemaking
- Hand-harvested, picked at night
- Hand-sorted whilestill cold from the field
- Fermented in small, closed top, stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts
- 5-day cold soak, 32 day total maceration
- Spontaneous malolactic fermentation in barrels
- Gentle pumpovers and delestage
- Aged 20 months in French oak barrels; 100% new
- Coopers: Taransaud, Baron, Radoux, Marcel Cadet
- Varietal Composition: 99% cabernet sauvignon, 1% petit verdot
- Unfined and unfiltered; bottled June 2018
Notes
This is the fifth vintage offering of this wine that was one of the first to carry the Coombsville name on its label. True to its site tucked in the southeast corner of Napa Valley, the wine reveals a deep purple rim surrounding an opaque core while an abundance of aromas emerge from dark chocolate and cigar leaf to blackcurrant and marinated black olives. An intensely structured palate of cassis, coriander, and dark cherry possess firm tannins amongst a backdrop of balanced acidity that brings tension and focus. The finish is everlasting bolstered by a crushed rock minerality that confers the site’s inherent rocky volcanic soils.
Wine Advocate: 97 Points
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Nathan Coombs Estate is profoundly scented of Black Forest cake, blackcurrant cordial and blueberry compote with touches of baking spices, fragrant earth, tobacco leaf and wild thyme. The medium to full-bodied palate is so vibrant and energetic with a firm, ripe, grainy frame and oodles of freshness, finishing long and mineral tinged. 500 cases produced.
Vinous Media: 97 Points
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Nathan Coombs Estate is a wild, savory wine that expresses all of the depth and intense, saline minerality that is such a signature of the best Coombsville wines. Sage, lavender, smoke, crushed rocks, menthol, wild flowers, chalk and red cherry jam build in the glass as the 2016 shows off its personality. The 2016 is a towering, statuesque wine of the very highest level. Don't miss it!
-- Antonio Galloni
Wine Spectator: 95 Points
Dark and winey, with a densely packed core of steeped açaí berry and blueberry reduction flavors, wrapped in singed cedar and alder notes, ending with a swath of tobacco and fruit on the finish. The tannins are a touch burly at the very end, but that's Coombsville structure. The ample fruit and drive should win this fans. A good candidate to age. Best from 2022 through 2036. 500 cases made. — JM
James Suckling: 94 Points
This is a big and mouth-filling wine with masses of tannins and rich fruit. Full body, dark-blueberry character and a long, flavorful finish. Tannin driven, this needs a lot of time to come around. Try after 2022.
