2020 Robert Craig Affinity Cabernet Sauvignon Napa

(92 Points) The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Affinity benefits from having been picked before the Glass Fire. Bright red-toned fruit, rose petal, dried flowers and blood orange lend energy to this exotic Napa Valley red from vineyards in Coombsville. There's a bit more Merlot than usual in this year's blend, and that works well for the wine's balance. Vinous

COMPOSITION: 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 4% Malbec

VINEYARDS: La Londe Lane Vineyard, Winery Estate Vineyard

APPELLATION: Coombsville and Howell Mountain 

Winery Notes

Affinity is an estate grown, single vineyard selection from La Londe Vineyard in Coombsville’s Mt. George foothills just south of Stag’s Leap. Our primary mission at Robert Craig Winery is to produce wines that feature pure site expression, and the soul of Affinity has always come from La Londe Vineyard, where the vines struggle in stony soils to yield a tiny 3.5 tons per acre with tremendous focus and intensity. Affinity is not an “entry level” Cabernet selection from our winery. It receives the same care and attention in the winery and vineyard as our mountain grown selections, yet the farming cost is lower due to the accessible nature of the site.

Our 2020 Affinity is a big wine that will reward patience. On our vineyards, the vintage was perfect until it wasn’t. Cabernet ripened slowly and evenly in the moderate summer after an unusually cold and wet spring in Coombsville. The 40-plus-year-old vines that John Caldwell planted so long ago allow this wine to display a piercing sense of the stony hillside property that has always made the base for our Affinity blend. We harvested a first pass that yielded classic, structured Cabernet and Merlot with tiny bunches gently destemmed (we don’t need additional tannin) before rolling through the optical sorter.

There was to be no second pass unfortunately due to the fires, so our 2020 Affinity production is tiny. You’ll find the signature Coombsville roasted coffee bean, anise, dusty cherry and a touch of cigar box rising from the glass and flowing in the center of the palate. This is an explosive wine that is a bit constrained on release. A number of months in a dark, quiet place will yield wonderful results. Affinity rarely gets the respect it deserves because of the price point, but it is truly one of the great collectibles released in the Napa Valley each year.