2009 Cerro Sur
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Tasting notes
Good medium ruby. Black cherry, black raspberry, plum and a whiff of mocha on the nose. Wonderfully plush and sweet, conveying an almost liqueur-like ripeness to its flavors of red and darker fruits, dried flowers and tobacco, but with harmonious acidity ensuring excellent definition. Really saturates the palate and lingers on the minerally back end, but these tannins appear to need more time to resolve than those of the Cabernet Sauvignon. Incidentally, this wine showed a cooler Cabernet Franc quality in the early going, even a minty nuance, but today it impresses most for its velvety mid-palate texture and complexity.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
(two-thirds cabernet franc and one-third cabernet sauvignon): Good red-ruby. Very sexy but youthfully reticent aromas of licorice, cocoa powder, red leaf tobacco, lavender and spicy oak. Aromatic in the mouth but a bit musclebound today, conveying a cooler aspect to its cherry, spice and cedar flavors. Finishes with lovely building perfume and classic dryness. The cabernet franc is from 35-year-old vines at Rancho Chimiles in the temperate Wooden Valley, several miles northeast of the town of Napa, while the cabernet sauvignon is from Meteor Vineyard in Coombsville.
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.
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. Viticulturist Annie Favia and her husband, winemaker Andy Erickson, are the forces behind Favia. Both Favia and Erickson boast impressive resumes. Favia has worked alongside a number of luminaries including David Abreu and John Kongsgaard, while Erickson has been involved in a number of high-profile projects including Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle and Ovid. I tasted three wines from Favia. Cerro Sur is a Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon blend. The Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from vineyards in St. Helena and Coombsville, and includes a small percentage of Petit Verdot. La Magdalena is a Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon blend from Madrona Ranch, David Abreu’s vineyard in St. Helena. All of the wines are made with indigenous yeasts and bottled without fining or filtration. Tel. (707) 256-0875; www.faviawines.com
About the producer
Favia is the personal project of cult winemaker Andy Erickson and leading viticulturalist and winemaker Annie Favia. Working in Coombsville and Oakville, they craft single-site, elegant expressions of top Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc that are some of the valley’s highest-rated.