Paul Hobbs Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon 2022
94 Decanter
This Cabernet Sauvignon, with 2% Cabernet Franc, was aged for 20 months in 53% new French oak barrels. In 2022, savoury spices abound in this red- and black-fruited wine from Paul Hobbs's Coombsville estate. Leather, violets, and loamy earth mingle with vibrant currant fruit. Medium-bodied with crunchy tannins, it unfolds through notes of cool, wet slate, sagebrush, and underbrush, leading to a refined and expressive finish. (JC) Review Date: 02/2025
93 pts Wine Advocate
Drink Date: 2025 - 2040
The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville includes 6% Petit Verdot—"the most PV I've ever used," said Paul Hobbs—and 3% each Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Aged in 50% new French oak, the nose easily blends black cherries and cassis with mere hints of cedar and vanilla. In the mouth, the wine is full-bodied and broad-shouldered but supple. Loaded with dark fruit, the texture just turns the slightest bit coarse on the finish, like so many wines from the vintage. It's still excellent and a reasonable value in the context of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon.
Paul Hobbs's Napa lineup sources grapes from three Beckstoffer-owned vineyards—Dr. Crane, Las Piedras and To Kalon. Hobbs has worked with Beckstoffer fruit for almost 30 years. His 1997 and 1998 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons weren't labeled To Kalon, but they were sourced from Beckstoffer's portion of that hallowed vineyard. In 1999, he started vineyard-designating that wine as Beckstoffer Vineyard. Things have changed a lot since then. As we tasted the 2022s for this report, Hobbs said, "I'm not going to tell you what I pay for the fruit, but it's more than $50,000 [per ton]."
In 2012, Hobbs purchased his own property in Coombsville—the Nathan Coombs Estate. That vineyard—66.8 acres that has since been largely replanted to five clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, plus Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot—is the source of Hobbs's Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as single-vineyard bottlings of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. There are also two blended wines off that property, Cristina's Signature, a more "Bordeaux-styled" wine that's sold via La Place de Bordeaux, and Cuvée Sophia, a wine that's only sold direct to consumers.
Speaking specifically about the 2022 growing season, Hobbs described it as good. "All the Chards and Pinots were fine," he said. But starting over Labor Day weekend and extending through September 9, he said a heat wave took its toll. "Temperatures peaked around 118 degrees [Farenheit]." He said they started harvesting Cabernet one week later. "For Cabs, where we had vineyards in cooler areas, that fruit came through fine. It's a great vintage for our Coombsville property, but it was a little stressful for the vines up in Oakville and Saint Helena." According to Hobbs, his yields in Coombsville were off by just 10% compared to normal, whereas up valley yields were down 30%.
There's also a range of Sonoma Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs (which are reviewed by my colleague Erin Brooks), plus international ventures in Argentina, Armenia, France and Spain, and Hobbs also has a winery in New York's Finger Lakes region—Hillock & Hobbs. Published: Feb 27, 2025
Original: $99.99
-70%$99.99
$30.00
Description
94 Decanter
This Cabernet Sauvignon, with 2% Cabernet Franc, was aged for 20 months in 53% new French oak barrels. In 2022, savoury spices abound in this red- and black-fruited wine from Paul Hobbs's Coombsville estate. Leather, violets, and loamy earth mingle with vibrant currant fruit. Medium-bodied with crunchy tannins, it unfolds through notes of cool, wet slate, sagebrush, and underbrush, leading to a refined and expressive finish. (JC) Review Date: 02/2025
93 pts Wine Advocate
Drink Date: 2025 - 2040
The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville includes 6% Petit Verdot—"the most PV I've ever used," said Paul Hobbs—and 3% each Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Aged in 50% new French oak, the nose easily blends black cherries and cassis with mere hints of cedar and vanilla. In the mouth, the wine is full-bodied and broad-shouldered but supple. Loaded with dark fruit, the texture just turns the slightest bit coarse on the finish, like so many wines from the vintage. It's still excellent and a reasonable value in the context of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon.
Paul Hobbs's Napa lineup sources grapes from three Beckstoffer-owned vineyards—Dr. Crane, Las Piedras and To Kalon. Hobbs has worked with Beckstoffer fruit for almost 30 years. His 1997 and 1998 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons weren't labeled To Kalon, but they were sourced from Beckstoffer's portion of that hallowed vineyard. In 1999, he started vineyard-designating that wine as Beckstoffer Vineyard. Things have changed a lot since then. As we tasted the 2022s for this report, Hobbs said, "I'm not going to tell you what I pay for the fruit, but it's more than $50,000 [per ton]."
In 2012, Hobbs purchased his own property in Coombsville—the Nathan Coombs Estate. That vineyard—66.8 acres that has since been largely replanted to five clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, plus Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot—is the source of Hobbs's Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as single-vineyard bottlings of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. There are also two blended wines off that property, Cristina's Signature, a more "Bordeaux-styled" wine that's sold via La Place de Bordeaux, and Cuvée Sophia, a wine that's only sold direct to consumers.
Speaking specifically about the 2022 growing season, Hobbs described it as good. "All the Chards and Pinots were fine," he said. But starting over Labor Day weekend and extending through September 9, he said a heat wave took its toll. "Temperatures peaked around 118 degrees [Farenheit]." He said they started harvesting Cabernet one week later. "For Cabs, where we had vineyards in cooler areas, that fruit came through fine. It's a great vintage for our Coombsville property, but it was a little stressful for the vines up in Oakville and Saint Helena." According to Hobbs, his yields in Coombsville were off by just 10% compared to normal, whereas up valley yields were down 30%.
There's also a range of Sonoma Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs (which are reviewed by my colleague Erin Brooks), plus international ventures in Argentina, Armenia, France and Spain, and Hobbs also has a winery in New York's Finger Lakes region—Hillock & Hobbs. Published: Feb 27, 2025
