2017 Ackerman Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville 750 ml

Coombsville has become one of the most in-demand appellations in Napa, and Ackerman Family Vineyard has some of the most coveted real estate in the area.

Just north of Ackerman is a Big Red Machine–level lineup of sites: From the two vineyards Far Niente owns in the area, it’s not far to Realm’s Farella estate ($270), Rewa ($230), and Meteor ($250). Head south and you hit Haynes Vineyard, which was recently purchased by Demeine Estates (Heitz, Stony Hill)—and now sells Chardonnay for over $300 per bottle.

They’re all after the same thing: The Coombsville AVA sits on the caldera of an ancient, extinct volcano, which creates a signature soils that provide Cabernet with intensity and bountiful aromas. And while the real estate in the area is hot, the climate is notable for its cool, marine-influenced winds and fog, which allows the team to let the grapes hang for a long time, creating intense flavor-ripeness while allaying worries about alcohol levels or freshness in the finished wine.

Ackerman beat the rush to Coombsville, buying their estate vineyard in 1994, though they didn’t release any of their own wine until 2007. A few years later they became the first California Certified Organic Farm in Coombsville—though the official AVA was approved a few years after the fact. Now that there’s been a gold rush to the area, they rightly look like geniuses.

Their 2017 Cabernet was fantastic on release—Vinous called it “a gorgeous wine”—and it’s blossomed beautifully in the cellar. Coombsville Cabs often have a strong minerality and powerful structure that reminds us of Pauillac in Bordeaux, and that makes for fantastic longevity.