2015 Favia Cerro Sur

Made for over twenty years by Annie Favia and Andy Erickson, these blends of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon are farmed sustainably and made in a restored 1886 winery in Coombsville. Camphor, tea leaves, red cherries and cool blackcurrant fruit on this expansive, fresh nose. Very youthful and vibrant. The palate has a lick of sweet wood but this is well integrated with the fruit, allowing the juicy, pure cherry and cassis notes to come through. Superb vibrancy from bright acidity, giving a weightless intensity and excellent harmony. Long, lifted and bright. (TP)

Moving to the reds, the 2015 Cerro Sur checks in as 82% Cabernet Franc and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon aged 22 months in barrel. It has full-bodied notes of jammy blackberries, tobacco leaf, cassis, and spice as well as some classic Cabernet Franc forest floor and earth all developing with time in the glass. It’s balanced, beautifully textured, and elegant, with terrific depth of fruit.

Blended of 82% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 22 months in French oak, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Cerro Sur leaps from the glass with scents of crushed blackberries and black and red currants with touches of bay leaves, fertile loam and fungi plus a touch of tobacco. Medium to full-bodied, firm and grainy, it delivers a solid frame and crunchy fruit, finishing on a lifted note. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered. 343 cases produced.