2016 Cerro Sur
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Tasting notes
Classic Napa Valley year. Nice and warm but not too warm. Deep crimson. Aromatic and attractive. Round and smooth. Some bite and structure. Long and beautifully balanced. Slightly inky. Loire-y finish. (JR)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
A step up over the 2015, the 2016 Cerro Sur is 78% Cabernet Franc and 22% Cabernet Sauvignon. Another seamless wine from Erickson, it offers awesome Cabernet Franc notes of forest floor, tobacco leaf, chocolate, and earth as well as copious amounts of cassis and darker berry fruits. It’s full-bodied, layered, elegant, and ultra-pure, and has another two decades of longevity.
Powerful, bold and explosive, the 2016 Cerro Sur is a jewel of a wine. Inky dark fruit and a host of savory/mineral notes imbue the 2016 with character and nuance. The 2016 is especially virile, and yet all the elements are wonderfully fused together. This is an extraordinarily beautiful, stunning wine of real pedigree. I loved it. The 2016 is 78% Cabernet Franc and 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the Franc very much front and center.
The 2016 Cerro Sur is a blend of 78% Cabernet Franc and 22% Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 22 months in French oak. Very deep purple-black in color, it reveals lifted redcurrant, kirsch and dried Provence herb scents with hints of unsmoked cigars, underbrush and mossy bark with a touch of espresso. Medium to full-bodied with taut, muscular fruit and a firm line of grainy tannins, it has lovely freshness and a long, earthy finish. Bottled without fining or filtration, 342 cases were produced.
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.