Caldwell Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, 2021

The cooler Coombsville AVA sits at the southern end of the Napa valley and is most exposed to the wines that funnel up over the San Pablo Bay. For some years its fruit has been a core component of many of Napa’s top blends, admired for the freshness it brings to a blend. Increasingly, top sites are now finding favour as vineyard designates, Caldwell amongst them. The profile here could not be more different to Massimo’s two Moon Mountain sites. Gone is the dark fruit, replaced by aromatic red and stone fruit notes, flowers both fresh and wilted and delicate aromas of bay and mossy woodland. The palate has great translucency, mid weight concentration, a long, salty, herbal red berry, cacao and graphite finish. There’s a certain seductiveness to the tannins and texture here, a cashmere quality. A truly refined Napa Cabernet.