2014 Coho Headwaters Proprietary Red Wine Napa Valley 750 ml

Chappellet Winemaker’s Sophomore Wine for Coho

It’s midseason in Napa Valley, and the vines are beginning to shelter tiny clusters of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot under their verdant leaves, protecting the slowly ripening berries from Mother Nature’s unforgiving sun. Between the rows, winemakers are already walking back and forth, engrossed in the excitement, worry, and potential triumph that lies in the fields. 

100-point winemaking phenom Phillip Corallo-Titus (of Chappellet stardom) can’t control Mother Nature, but if his 2019 efforts come anywhere close to his 2014 Coho Headwaters Proprietary Red, we’ll be buying up everything we can. 

Titus’s lush, decadent, top-scoring Cabernets from Chappellet are the stuff of legend, and his private label Titus wines have been praised by Parker for “consistent high quality”—and now, he’s pouring his years of unmatched Napa Valley expertise and countless 95+ point scores into Coho.

And this 2014 Headwaters, his second vintage for Coho, more than lives up to the high bar that he set with previous Napa Valley reds. It’s a deep wine that swirls with blackberries, black cherries, mocha, and allspice, and is a rare opportunity to experience the vision and acumen of one of the world’s masters without breaking the bank.

Founded by 30-year wine industry veteran Gary Lipp, an alum of Paul Hobbs, Chalone, Robert Mondavi, and eventually Chappellet—where he first met Corallus-Titus—Coho wines transmit Napa Valley terroir in wines renowned for their power and balance. Since 2013, Corallo-Titus has been at the winemaking helm of Coho, stewarding blends like the Headwaters to dense, fruit-laden fame. 

Grown primarily in cooler-climate Coombsville, the proximity of these vines to the San Pablo Bay has imparted an almost electric sense of energy and spice to this rich, focused wine.

“The Cabernet gave structure and elegance to the blend as well as concentrated fruit and spice aromas and flavors,” Corallus-Titus told us, with the Petit Verdot and Merlot adding “layers of complexity and richness.” And because the 2014 includes a bit more Merlot and Petit Verdot in the blend, it’s already drinking brilliantly…though, of course, several years of cellaring will only add to its charm.

And it’s from a vintage that is already being discussed in the same breath as the greats of the past decade. “The best 2014s are aromatically expressive, rich and energetic, with striking balance and plenty of potential,” according to Vinous. James Suckling called 2014 in Napa “extremely attractive…the wines show a wonderful aromatic tension, balanced palate, and vivid finish.” 

We couldn’t agree more. The 2014 Coho Headwaters is the kind of wine that rewards stockpiling, because opening up that first one will inevitably lead to a second—it’s that delicious already—but you’ll definitely want a handful of them resting in the cellar. Especially in a year like 2014. And especially with a wine this appealing already.