2021 Vista Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville 750 ml

You won’t find much information on Vista Reserve’s website—and that’s by design. Veteran winemaker Grant Long, Jr., the man behind several $100+-per-bottle, mailing-list-only Napa Cabernets we can’t name, keeps the sources for his label shrouded in secrecy. NDAs are the mortar that binds his stunning values together—values like the 2021 Vista Reserve Coombsville Cabernet.

Coombsville has become the buzziest appellation in Napa in recent years: Paul Hobbs has made their Nathan Coombs Estate ($360) a flagship bottle. Far Niente owns multiple vineyards in the AVA. Realm’s Farella ($270), Rewa ($230), and Meteor ($250) are all tightly allocated, mailing-list Cabs. The historic Haynes Vineyard was recently purchased by Demeine Estates (Heitz, Stony Hill)—and now sells Chardonnay for over $300 per bottle.

The through-line for this enthusiasm is the quality of wine from Coombsville, which Grant captures here: His Vista Reserve has a combination of richness, density, and elegance that are showstopping in their combination.

Living in Napa since he was a child and crafting the kind of Cabernets for which Napa buyers endure long waitlists, Grant certainly understands the allure of the appellation’s premier vineyards. And through his consulting work he also has an intimate knowledge of the best sites around the Valley, and he knows that the right grapes with the right sourcing can attain Napa-star levels of complexity.

In 2021—one of Napa’s greatest modern years—he knocked it out of the park. Grant still won’t tell us where he got the grapes, but the proof is in the glass: It pours a dark ruby color, with aromas practically leaping out, especially mulberry preserve, crème de cassis, cacao nibs, and subtle floral tones. You get plenty of lushness on the palate, but there’s still some of Coombsville’s famous structure driving a long finish. A phenomenal bottle from a top talent.