Faust The Pact Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville 2021

Faust has grown to be known as a stronghold of quality and value in the quite saturated market of Napa cab, flying high above its competition at an unreal price point! Today’s 97 point The Pact cabernet sauvignon absolutely lives up to the brand’s reputation!

Faust’s first release was back in 2002, launched as a sort of side project from Chilean vintner, Augustin Huneeus, Jr. His parents founded the iconic Rutherford winery, Quintessa, in the early ‘90s, and the joke goes that Augustin had to make a deal with the devil (some say that is his father) to get the green light on his new Coombsville brand. The Faust vineyard was originally an abandoned dairy farm in Coombsville, blessed with many of the same native flora and fauna that first attracted the family to what would become the Quintessa estate some years prior. They began planting cabernet sauvignon here – at a time when Coombsville was still widely regarded as being too cold for cabernet – and the rest is history. Today, a duo of Jen Beloz and David Jelinek make the wines, and the brand has become a staple on fine restaurant lists across the country.

As you know, the 2021 vintage of Napa cabernet is one of the most remarkable in at least the last several decades, if not a century or more. The character of the vintage is the power and depth that seamlessly carry an intense brightness and finely integrated acidity that will allow these wines to stand up for decades. Faust is typically made in a modern, drink-young, restaurant-friendly style, and even the Suckling 97-point review states: “Love to drink it now as a young wine. This evolves all the time. It will age beautifully. Better in three to five years. But I can’t wait.” Hefty praise and this quintessentially classic Faustian bargain lives up to the hype – and is worth collecting as much as you can, for as long as you can get it!

Coombsville is Napa’s southernmost corner for growing cabernet sauvignon, with cooling breezes from the San Pablo Bay, volcanic soils, and foggy mornings that present a polished, structured cabernet that drinks effortlessly and far and away stands out from its peers. With bright blue fruits and a searing vibrancy, this presents an air of freshness not overly common in Napa cabernets. Cedar sprigs with graphite, currants and blackberries, wet cement, and oyster shell – this takes you on a whirling journey of brightness, depth, and complexity. This is a Napa cult favorite to stock up on today!

PAIRING IDEAS: Take this on a spin with a classic dish of steak and frites, and watch how your taste buds sing!