2014 Favia Suize Viognier Amador
Creamy and nicely textured on the palate, the 2014 Suize (Viognier) offers considerable depth as well as pedigree. The 2014 could benefit from a few more months in bottle, as it is not fully put together yet.
2014 Favia Cerro Sur
The 2014 Cerro Sur is gorgeous. Fresh, vibrant and beautifully delineated, the 2014 speaks to energy above all else. Floral notes from the Cabernet Franc give the wine its aromatic intensity and lift, but at the same time, the wine is weightless, precise and lifted. The 2014 could use another few years in bottle. Today, it is brisk and finely cut, not to mention striking in its beauty.
2014 Favia Quarzo Syrah Amador
The 2014 Quarzo (100% Syrah) is a powerful, explosive wine. Inky and richly textured, the Quarzo possesses notable personality and class. Judging by these two Rhône wines, Syrah seems a bit better suited to the Favia style than Grenache. There is certainly plenty to like in the Quarzo, a wine that showcases the racier side of Syrah in Amador County.
2013 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon, Coombsville, Napa Valley
The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon from the southeastern Napa AVA of Coombsville has a similar saturated ruby/purple color. It’s slightly more chunky with muscular blackberry and blueberry fruit, full body and a very structured, reserved, backward personality. This is a beauty, slightly bigger and more tannic than the other Favia offerings. Drink it over the next 25 years.
2014 Favia Cabernet Sauvigon Oakville
Rich, ample and voluptuous, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville is even better today than it was a year ago. This is an especially flamboyant, opulent style, yet all the elements fall into place effortlessly. Today, the 2015 is a total knock-out.
2015 Favia Linea Sauvignon Blanc Coombsville
The 2015 Linea is 100% Sauvignon Blanc from a site in Coombsville. Powerful and pliant, the Linea expresses all of the natural richness of the year in its unctuous, racy personality. This is an unusually exotic, dense wine, largely the result of yields that were down by around 50%.
2014 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville
Favia's 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville is just as compelling from bottle as it was from barrel. Powerful and intensely savory in the glass, the 2014 exudes power, with plenty of a good bit of supporting Coombsville structure. Dark red cherry, plum, iron, smoke and crushed rocks build into the intense, super-expressive finish. What a gorgeous wine this is.
2014 Favia La Magdalena
The 2014 La Magdalena is another drop-dead gorgeous beauty from Favia. The aromatics are a bit attenuated relative to how the wine showed last year. Some of that may be attributable to its recent bottling. We will see. For now, the 2014 is fresh and nicely delineated throughout. Red cherry jam, mocha, wild flowers and sweet spices all flesh out in the glass.
2014 Favia Rompecabezas Red Wine Amador
The 2014 Rompecabezas, Favia's Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre blend, shows the signatures of Amador County, but with all the elements amped up by two or three notches. This is an especially powerful, concentrated style.
2014 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville
The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville is rich and dense to the point that the tannins are nearly buried by the sheer intensity of the fruit. This is a surprisingly dense wine for the vintage. Hints of iron and smoke add some complexity, but the 2014 is hard to fully read today.
2014 Favia Sauvignon Blanc Coombsville Linea
The 2014 Linea (Sauvignon Blanc) is striking. Lemon oil, white flowers and mint take shape in a pedigreed, exquisitely beautiful Sauvignon from a dry-farmed site in Coombsville. The blocked malo style keeps the flavors bright an focused throughout, but it is the wine's textural finesse and feel that place it among Napa Valley's finest Sauvignons.
2014 Favia Cerro Sur Napa Valley Red Wine
The 2014 Cerro Sur is a more than worth follow up to the 2013. Dark red and black stone fruit, graphite, espresso, menthol, pencil shavings and crushed rocks are all beautifully delineated. Harmonious and well balanced for such a young wine, the 2014 offers considerable potential. The Cerro Sur is a bit linear today, but it possesses tremendous energy throughout. The blend is 67% Cabernet Franc and 33% Cabernet Sauvignon.
2014 Favia La Magdalena Napa Valley Red Wine
The La Magdalena is once again majestic. Vivid, nuanced and remarkably detailed for such a big wine, the 2014 exhibits striking aromatic presence to match its finely sculpted personality. Translucent energy and power abound. La Magdalena is a blend of equal parts Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, co-fermented, from Oakville Ranch.
2013 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon, Coombsville, Napa Valley
A towering, statuesque wine, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville shows just how profound this Napa Valley vintage is shaping up to be. Graphite, smoke, sage, and rosemary are some of the many notes that lift from the glass as this dark, dense wine shows off its considerable pedigree. Broad swaths of tannin lie in the background, giving the wine much of its energy and virile, imposing personality.
2014 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville
A wine of impact and power, Favia's 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville brings together the intensely savory/mineral style of the year and a huge core of fruit. Black cherry, mocha and espresso add shades of nuance, but the 2014 is above all else a wine of intensity and structure. It will be interesting to see what another year in barrel does here.
2013 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville, Napa Valley
The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon offers beautiful Margaux-like floral notes, sweet blue and black fruits, beautifully integrated ripe tannin, adequate acidity and a judicious use of oak. It’s medium to full-bodied, extremely elegant and discreet, but intense at the same time. This is a beautiful example of combining power with complexity in an age-worthy, complete wine. Drink it over the next 20-25 years.
2012 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Their 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, is extraordinary as well. With an opaque dark purple/bluish tint, the wine offers up crème de cassis, blueberry liqueur, camphor, and again, an almost floral note that makes the aromatics to die for. The flavors don’t disappoint either. This is a full-bodied, seamlessly constructed, beautifully textured, stunning wine with a 40- to 45-second finish as well as spectacular texture and length. This is another great wine that is flirting with perfection.
2012 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
This small, high quality boutique operation is a joint venture between Annie Favia and winemaker and consultant Andy Erickson. By and large, not a lot of these wines are made, usually under 300 cases. The 2010s, which are currently on the market, are brilliant.
2010 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Favia’s 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon bursts from the glass with juicy dark cherries, plums, mocha, chocolate and new leather. In a vintage in which so many wines are structured and tight, the Favia Cabernet stands apart for an exuberant, approachable personality that sits on the edge of over ripeness. Favia and Erickson craft their Cabernet from vineyards in Coombsville and Oakville.
Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025.
2010 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
(100% cabernet sauvignon; from vineyards in Coombsville and Oakville): Good bright ruby. Highly aromatic nose and palate combine redcurrant, pepper, mocha and tobacco leaf. Bright and complex in the mouth, with terrific concentration and sweetness to the tactile, varietally accurate flavors. Offers an outstanding combination of claret-like Coombsville reserve and Oakville power. And wonderfully round on the long, sweet back end.
2009 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon is a very pretty wine. Flowers, spices, licorice and mint are some of the nuances that add complexity to the bold fruit. There is plenty of energy, focus and brightness in the glass, which helps balance some of the more overt qualities here. This is another gorgeous Cabernet from Annie Favia and Andy Erickson.
Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024.
2009 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
(Combines fruit from Meteor Vineyard, another site in Coombsville and one in Oakville): Aromas of plum, cherry and spices. Suave, sweet and savory, with enticing, pliant flavors of red fruits, game and sage. Finishes lush and sweet, with very smooth tannins and lingering notes of red berries and spicecake. More open-knit than it appeared to be in barrel a year ago, but built to age.
2008 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Expressive tobacco, grilled herbs, new leather and spices are some of the notes that emerge as the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon takes shape in the glass. This is an especially understated, classy Cabernet graced with exquisite finesse. Layers of spiced fruit caress the fruit on the radiant, resonant finish.
Anticipated maturity: 2013-2020.
2008 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Complex and distinctive, offering a ripe, dense, complex mix of dark fruit flavors built around plum, black cherry and blueberry, with an unusual nutty zucchini bread edge. Full-bodied, with ele- ments of fresh loamy earth, cedar, roasted herb and toasty oak.
Drink now through 2020.
2008 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Aromas of plum, cherry and spices. Suave, sweet and savory, with enticing, pliant flavors of red fruits, game and sage. Finishes lush and sweet, with very smooth tannins and lingering notes of red berries and spicecake. More open-knit than it appeared to be in barrel a year ago, but built to age.
2007 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon (96% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Petit Verdot) has beefed up a bit. Opaque ruby/purple, with notes of espresso roast, white chocolate, licorice and unsmoked tobacco as well as a restrained hint of barbecued smoke, the wine is layered, rich, full-bodied, and impressively endowed.
It should evolve for at least 15 or 20 years.
2007 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Tightly wound, firm and structured, with compact dried currant, cedar, mineral, graphite, mineral and sage. Full-bodied yet restrained, fanning out a bit on the finish while remaining taut and chewy.
Best from 2012 through 2020.
2007 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Good deep red-ruby. Aromas of black cherry, cassis, graphite and licorice, plus a suggestion of molten bitter chocolate. Quite tightly wound today and not at all an unctuous style, displaying terrific lift and verve to its penetrating cassis and graphite flavors. Not a blockbuster but this boasts terrific depth and captivating minerality. Finishes very long, with noteworthy energy. Has the balance and intensity to be very long-lived.
2006 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
The outstanding 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon (95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot) offers notes of unsmoked high-class cigar tobacco, licorice, blue and black fruits, subtle smoke, and camphor. This deep, rich, full-bodied wine should drink beautifully for 20+ years.
2013 Favia Cerro Sur Red Wine Napa Valley
The other proprietary red wine Favia is known for is the 2013 Proprietary Red Cerro Sur. What a
gorgeous effort with layers of concentrated black cherry and blackcurrant fruit and blueberries are
present in this fullbodied, opulent and voluptuously textured wine. Like its siblings, the impeccable purity and brilliant craftsmanship integrating tannin and acidity, new oak and alcohol into a high fashion wine is obvious in this rich, potentially blockbuster and age worthy wine. This is a sensational effort to drink over the next 25 years.
2012 Favia Cerro Sur Red Wine Napa Valley
The 2012 Cerro Sur, a proprietary blend of 62% Cabernet Franc and 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, is a real killer, demonstrating how well these two grapes blend together when crafted by two brilliant viticulturists and winemakers, Annie Favia and her husband Andy Erickson. Dense purple to the rim, with a glorious nose of spring flowers, blueberry, raspberry, a hint of camphor and subtle charcoal in the background, the wine is medium to full-bodied, silky textured, with gorgeously integrated tannin and acidity, and a layered mouthfeel that builds incrementally. This is pure genius and a great cuvée, not only showcasing the talents of its makers, but the brilliance of 2012. Drink it over the next 10-12 years.
This small, high quality boutique operation is a joint venture between Annie Favia and winemaker and consultant Andy Erickson. By and large, not a lot of these wines are made, usually under 300 cases. The 2010s, which are currently on the market, are brilliant.
2010 Favia Cerro Sur Red Wine Napa Valley
The 2010 Cerro Sur emerges from the glass with deep, resonant layers of dark red berries, dried flowers, sage and exotic spices, all in a rich, voluptuous style that is impossible to resist. There is plenty of underlying tension and minerality to balance the fruit in this compelling wine. This is a fabulous showing from Favia. The 2010 is 69% Cabernet Franc and 31% Cabernet Sauvignon from vineyards in Coombsville.
Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025.
2010 Favia Cerro Sur Red Wine Napa Valley
A muscular mix of dried berry, herb, cedar and tobacco flavors that are firm and concentrated, unfolding to offer riper currant and plum notes, while maintaining its tight structure. Features supple tannins and fine length. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Drink now through 2024.
2010 Favia Cerro Sur Red Wine Napa Valley
(Two-thirds cabernet franc planted in 1980, and one-third cabernet sauvignon; from Rancho Chimiles vines in Coombsville): Bright red-ruby. Slightly high-toned aromas of raspberry, cherry, licorice, tobacco, cinnamon and nutty oak. A touch of smoky reduction blows off to reveal sweet flavors of red berries, spices and red leaf tobacco. Finishes smoothly tannic and very long, with a sexy leafy quality brought by the franc component.
2009 Favia Cerro Sur Red Wine Napa Valley
Favia’s 2009 Cerro Sur shows gorgeous energy and finesse. Dark red berries, flowers, mint and mocha are some of the many nuances that are layered through the mid-palate and into the finish. The 2009 stands out for its vibrancy and lively underlying minerality.
Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019.
2008 Favia Cerro Sur Red Wine Napa Valley
Dense and concentrated, with layers of rich loamy earth, dried berry, blueberry, cedarm, gravel, and graphite. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins, but they’re ripe and well-integrated. Uses less Cabernet Franc and shows more density than the La Magdelena bottling. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Best From 2013 through 2023.
2008 Favia Cerro Sur Red Wine Napa Valley
The 2008 Cerro Sur is a very pretty wine laced with dark red fruit, mocha, espresso and spices. All of the elements are beautifully balanced through to the rich, generous finish.
Anticipated maturity: 2012-2018.
2007 Favia Cerro Sur Red Wine Napa Valley
The 2007 Cerro Sur is the winery’s 67% Cabernet Franc and 33% Cabernet Sauvignon blend. This is a beauty – elegant, restrained, and slightly closed, but displaying more intensity than last year, with a beautiful nose of bay leaf, blueberry, spring flowers, graphite, and crushed rock. Medium to full-bodied, pure, dense and impressive, it should drink well for 10-15+ years.
2007 Favia Cerro Sur Red Wine Napa Valley
Dark red-ruby. Sexy aromas of black raspberry, tobacco and cedary oak. Round, broad and sweet, with concentrated dark berry flavors enlivened by harmonious acidity. Really saturates the palate on the back end, finishing broad, rich and very long, with suave tannins. The most California typical of these wines.
2006 Favia Cerro Sur Red Wine Napa Valley
(72% cabernet franc and 28% cabernet sauvignon) Good deep red-ruby. Black cherry, currant, wild herbs and baking spices on the nose, all lifted by a note of violet. In a rather cool style, with strong minerality giving focus and lift to the complex dark fruit and spice flavors. The lowest in pH of these three wines, and showing the most thrust and definition today. Very suave oak treatment here. Finishes with excellent length and cut. The cabernet franc comes from a steep, rocky, volcanic hillside block of Rancho Chimiles east of Coombsville, while the cabernet sauvignon component is from Meteor Vineyard in Coombsville.
2003 Favia Cerro Sur Red Wine Napa Valley
The 2003 Cerro Sur is primarily Cabernet Franc blended with some Cabernet Sauvignon. A dense ruby/purple color is followed by a complex nose of blue and red fruits, graphite, lavender and spring flowers. This highly complex, aromatic, rich, medium to full-bodied 2003 is a showcase for the brilliance of Cabernet Franc grown in Napa. It stands as a beacon to those who are bullish about this grape’s potential. Approachable now, it should continue to drink well for a decade.
2013 Favia La Magdalena Red Wine Napa Valley
The 2013 Proprietary Red La Magdalena, which I think contains a good bit of Cabernet Franc in the blend, has a dense bluish/purple color, a wonderfully sweet inner core of graphite, blueberry liqueur, black raspberries and cassis. Medium to full-bodied, with flawless integration of tannin and acidity, this is a terrific example of top-flight viticulture and winemaking. It’s no wimpy wine at 14.8% natural alcohol. The tannins are soft enough to give the wine accessability now, but it should continue to age nicely for 20+ years.
2012 Favia La Magdalena Red Wine Napa Valley
The 2012 La Magdalena is the Favia/Erickson equal-part blend of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a dense ruby/purple color and 100-point aromatics that are compelling and addictive. The inky bluish/purple color is followed by intense floral aromas mixed with pure blueberry, raspberry and blackcurrants. Surely there’s plenty of new oak used in the upbringing of this wine, but you’d never know it the way this wine tastes. It is full-bodied and opulent, like Chanel’s newest haute-couture creation. This is a flawless, perfect effort that proves their mastery of this craft of winemaking. The finish goes on for a good 40-45 seconds.
All of these reds are aged 20-22 months in primarily new French oak. This small, high quality boutique operation is a joint venture between Annie Favia and winemaker and consultant Andy Erickson. By and large, not a lot of these wines are made, usually under 300 cases. The 2010s, which are currently on the market, are brilliant.
2008 Favia La Magdalena Red Wine Napa Valley
Beautifully crafted, smooth and seamless, with sharp focus on a rich, layered band of spicy berry, mineral, graphite, blueberry and gravel. Full-bodied, elegant and lively on palate, with a long, persistent finish. One of the best California Cabernet Franc-based wines I’ve tried. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Drink now through 2022.
2008 Favia La Magdalena Red Wine Napa Valley
From David Abreu’s Madrona Ranch property in St. Helena; a 75/25 blend of cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon. Bright ruby-red. Vibrant aromas of redcurrant, cherry, licorice and violet. Fine-grained, suave and utterly seamless, with lovely floral lift. This essentially gentle wine finishes sweet and long, with a fine dusting of tannins and noteworthy breadth. Winemaker Andy Erickson describes this as the most European in style of the three Favia reds, and most appreciated by the New York market.
2007 Favia La Magdalena Red Wine Napa Valley
Another proprietor with an impressive resume, Annie Favia, wife of owner and winemaking consultant Andy Erickson, worked for over a decade with David Abreu and was highly involved in the development of vineyards such as Colgin, Screaming Eagle, and St. Eden (part of the Bond project). All of these wines are aged mostly in new French oak, and based on three Bordeaux varietals – Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. There’s no Merlot in any of them.
The 2007 La Magdalena (50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Cabernet Franc) is a tiny production lot of just under 100 cases, so I will give it short thrift note-wise, but this is an ethereal wine that is showing better than it did last year. A wonderfully sweet bouquet of acacia flowers, lead pencil shavings, blueberries, and black currants is followed by a medium to full-bodied wine with extraordinary elegance, precision and purity.
Drink it over the next 10-15 years.
2007 FAVIA La Magdalena Napa Valley
Richly flavored, intense and vibrant, with a complex mix of dried currant, loamy earth, sage, cedar, underbrush, graphite and black licorice. Full-bodied, this fans out nicely on the finish, where the flavors get a good lift.
Best from 2011 through 2022.
2014 Favia Linéa Sauvignon Blanc Coombsville
Displaying a beautiful nose of honeysuckle, melons and figs, the 2014 Sauvignon Blanc Linea is a beautifully knit, medium-weight, but intense Sauvignon Blanc to drink over the next several years.
2011 Favia Linéa Sauvignon Blanc Coombsville
The 2011 Linéa Sauvignon Blanc, from a dry-farmed, cold-weather site in Coombsville, is strikingly beautiful. Lemon, yellow peaches, sage and tomato leaf all burst from the glass in this varietally expressive, layered Sauvignon Blanc. Favia’s 2011 Sauvignon Blanc is beautiful and distinctive to the core. The blend is 57% Sauvignon Blanc and 43% Sauvignon Musquet.
Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016.
2014 Favia Quarzo Syrah Amador
Rich and powerfully built, with bold blueberry, crushed rock and licorice aromas leading to dense but polished flavors of wild berry, game and white pepper. The tannins are big but refined.
Drink now through 2028.
2009 Favia Quarzo Syrah Amador
Beautifully crafted, rich and expressive, graceful yet potent, with a tight delivery of dark berry, mineral and cedar flavors that show a touch of nutmeg and berry jam. Ends with forceful yet integrated tannins. Begs for cellaring.
Drink 2014 through 2024.
2008 Favia Quarzo Syrah Amador
Rich, thick and polished, full-bodied and stylish, with a vivid, complex core of dried berry, roasted herb, mocha and espresso flavors that slowly and gracefully unfold and turn increasingly elegant on the long, sophisticated finish. An excellent Favia Amador Syrah.
Drink now through 2020.
2007 Favia Syrah Quarzo Amador
Immense and expressive, offering broad, expansive layers of wild berry and blackberry, fresh, loamy earth, pepper, spice and nutmeg, with a rich mouthfeel that lets the berry fruit fan out and gain nuance and complexity.
Drink now through 2017.
2009 Favia Rompecabezas Red Wine Amador
Gorgeous, with rich, layered fruit, subtle earth and spice nuances and excellent structure and balance. The flow of ripe dark berry, melted licorice and freshly turned earth weaves together in a seamless fashion,ending with a long, focused finish. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre.
Drink now through 2022.
2008 Favia Rompecabezas Red Wine Amador
Rich, layered and intense, offering finesse, polish and impeccable balance, with mineral, dried berry, sage, cedar and crème de cassis touches as the parts add up to a wonderfully complex and engaging wine that keeps providing more nuance and detail. Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre.
Drink now through 2020.
2007 Favia Rompecabezas Red Wine Amador
Wonderfully pure, ripe, fleshy and grapey wild berry, black cherry and plummy berry flavors have an enticing spicy, peppery edge. Elegant, full-bodied, complex and layered, this is simply delicious to drink, with a long, persistent finish. Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah.
Drink now through 2015.