97 Points James Suckling
Aromas of blueberries, blackberries, dried rose petals, graphite, violets, wet earth, bitter dark chocolate and a touch of slate. The palate shows nerve and verve, with vibrancy, a mouthwatering feel and a rounded, textural mouthfeel balanced by fine tannins and bright acidity. This is so focused, with power and an aromatic lift. A wine for today, but with plenty of potential for aging. A great example of Coombsville.
 
95 Points Wine Spectator
 
Dark, winey, almost brooding in persona, with an inky hint giving way to smoldering tobacco and cast iron notes that feature as prominently as the deep well of black currant and blackberry preserves. Old-school bay leaf, chestnut leaf and sanguine accents fill in liberally on the finish, which shows cut as the vintage’s succulence lets everything play out. Best from 2027 through 2038. 3,800 cases made.
 
94 Points Decanter
Ages 21 months in 48% new French Oak. Grapes are grown in the volcanic soils of Coombsville. The wine bears an unmistakable Coombsville-coolness factor in its expressive black fruit, dried sage, loamy earth, and tobacco that just lift out the glass. It's a full-bodied, refined Cabernet, with fine tannins, and gravelly, crushed stone minerality on the lengthy finish.
Winemaker Notes
A benchmark bottle from an enviably cool growing season, Pact 2023 offers every intriguing element you've come to expect in our signature wine, only more of each. Heady minerality—always the mark of our vineyard's Pact blocks-is amplified on the nose, followed by savory crushed herb aromas over layers of warm, toasted spice, sweet tobacco leaf, and rich blue fruit. That pure, dark fruit melds with earth on a juicy palate framed by fine-grained tannins that add precision and weight to the midpalate, giving way to a persistent finish driven by the incredible throughline of minerality that opened on the nose. With the structure and freshness of a classically cool vintage, this Pact will evolve slowly and beautifully through many years in the cellar.