Favia: Andy and Annie’s boutique Napa wine operation has taken a step forward with the purchase of a significant Oakville vineyard site, and the 2021s impress
Website: https://www.faviawines.com/
Annie and Andy Erickson founded Favia in 2003. I caught up with them at a dinner in the excellent Rochelle Canteen to taste through the latest releases, as well as some of their older wines. They are both charming, and it was a lovely time – my first exposure to these wines.
Annie and Andy arrived separately in Napa 30 years ago. Andy turned up in 1994, wanting to make wine. Previously he’d worked in two wineries and he’d got a masters degree at University of California Davis. On his arrival in Napa in the mid-1990s, he says, ‘I was in the right place at the right time.’ Then, he recalls, Napa was more of a farming community, but it has changed considerably over the years. He adds, ‘so many amazing things have happened in the valley in the last 30 years.’ He worked for David Abreu and learn a lot from him, and then he worked for Harlan. He met Annie in 1996, and now they have been married for 27 years.
They began Favia in 2001, with just one barrel of wine. In 2003 they launched two Cabernet Franc-based blends. The label has grown significantly, and while Andy still consults for many Napa wineries, he says that Favia has become more of a focus for them: they have a winery in Coomsbville with their own vineyard and have recently (2023) purchased a 35 hectare property in Oakville. This is a significant step forward: things just got very serious! (This property was previously owned by Huneeus, and they will become co-owners and share brand equity, planting additional vineyard area – see here for more details.)
‘One of the things we connected over was our love of Cabernet Franc,’ says Annie. When she was at school at the Sorbonne, she went to the Loire valley and found a love for Cabernet Franc. At that time, Napa didn’t have much: Cabernet Franc was just 3% of the vineyard area. But when it came time to make their own wine, they set out to make Cabernet Franc. ‘I fell in love with the east side of the Napa Valley,’ says Annie. Phylloxera and the wrong rootstock (AXR1) had caused a lot of replanting in Napa, and so they got to see soil pits all over the valley. She found she loved the Vaca mountains in the east, with its mostly volcanic-based soils and 10 inches less rainfall than the Mayacamas range.
Rancho Chimiles in Coombsville, which they lease, checks all the boxes for them. Planted in 1988, it has a NE exposure. ‘There’s an amazing energy to the place,’ says Annie. It’s a 1200 acre ranch with 60 acres of vines, at 325 m, and it’s sloped quite steeply.
All their vineyards are farmed organically. They do a lot of cover cropping over winter, them as the growing season approaches they chop it up with a flail and use a spader to incorporate it.
‘Cabernet Franc can handle the heat,’ says Annie. ‘It just needs to be treated well.’ They work a lot with row direction and canopy management. ‘The most important thing is to get filtered dappled light [on the grapes].’ If Cabernet Franc is pushed too far – with too much crop or growing it on heavy soils – then it can be very green. More often, though, people go in the other direction and pick too late because they are worried about the greenness, and then the wines can be very flat.
‘My winemaking is very analog,’ says Andy. He sorts carefully, but once the grapes go into the fermenter he just controls the temperature, beginning with a 3-5 day cold soak. He’ll always start with native yeasts, and aims simply to highlight the vineyard, letting fermentation peak at 82 F (28 C, not particularly high). For Cabernet Franc he leaves the wine on skins for a long time to build texture, but for Cabernet Sauvignon he works the wine more at the beginning and less at the end, because Cabernet Sauvignon has more tannins. He lees stirs during malolactic fermentation to help fine the wines a bit.
We begin with the 2021 releases. Andy describes this as a very exciting vintage after the 2020 harvest where they made very little wine because of the fires. 2021 was a drought year with a small crop but vibrant aromatics.
Favia Cerro Sur 2021 Napa Valley, California
This is a blend of 53% Cabernet Franc, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot from Rancho Chimiles, high in the mountains above Coombsville. 22 months in small French oak, 50% new, no fining or filtration. Sweetly aromatic with blackcurrant, black cherries and some blackberry jam, but it still retains its freshness. The palate is bold and intense with spicy oak sitting under the sweet black cherry and blackcurrant fruit. There’s some polish here but also brightness, with good structure. The oak is more spicy than sweet and helps with this structure. Notes of lavender and dried herbs in the mix: this has potential for development but is also approachable now. 96/100
Favia Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 Coombsbville, Napa Valley, California
Coombsville is a volcanic caldera, a saucer-like shape derived from a volcano that went up and settled. It has light soil with pumice stones and is 10 F cooler than Oakville. Andy and Annie’s home and winery are located here. This is concentrated and structured with real density but also freshness. There’s powerful, vital blackcurrant fruit with some black cherry, and good tannic structure. Well integrated spicy oak (22 months in 50% new French barrels) adds to the wine. Amazing concentration but no over-ripeness or jamminess. Warm-climate in style but beautifully handled with just a hint of olive and exotic herbs. Such purity and vitality. 95/100
Favia Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 Oakville Ranch, Napa Valley, California
These plots are located above the eastern ridge of the valley and have red, rocky, iron-rich soils. 22 months in French oak, 50% new. No fining or filtration. Sweetly aromatic with some stern gravel and tar notes adding framing to the fruit. The palate is richly spiced with some stern woody oaky notes supporting the ripe fruit. Blackcurrant and black cherries with some warmth. Quite rich, oaky, spicy and dense. 94/100
Other wines tasted with dinner:
Favia Linea Sauvignon Blanc 2023 Napa Valley, California
When Sauvignon Blanc is planted on the right soils and treated the right way it can make some fabulous wines, says Andy. No malolactic and 25% new oak. This is powerful and lively with pear, anise and white peach fruit. Nice bold style. 93/100
Favia Cerro Sur 2011 Napa Valley, California
This was a difficult vintage with rain in the first week of October, then fog, and then more rain. There was quite a bit of botrytis in the Cabernet Sauvignon. Smooth ripe and textural with sweet black cherry, a hint of ash and some dried herbs, and subtle gravelly notes. There’s some maturity here, with notes of herbs and gravel as well as a hint of earth, but it’s ageing really well. Finishes with beefy hints and nice brightness. 94/100
Favia Cerro Sur 2016 Napa Valley, California
This is ripe and direct, and sweetly fruited with black cherry and blackcurrant fruit. Sleek and bold with nice lushness. Ripe with spicy detail and a bit of saltiness, as well as fine herbal detail. Nice black fruit character with some red fruit freshness. 94/100
Favia Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 Napa Valley, California
This was a cooler vintage resulting in classic Napa-style wines. Nice fresh, focused aromatics with sleek blackcurrant fruit. Perfumed and elegant with finesse and amazing brightness. Pure, lush and slightly salty with nice finesse and brightness. In a ripe style, but really good. 95/100
Favia Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 Napa Valley, California
This was a powerful vintage that was dark and intense from the start. Ripe, rich, tannic and bold. Dark and intense with notes of gravel and chalk, as well as fine spices. Good depth, showing fruit sweetness. 94/100
