Napa Valley
Covert Estate is owned by French born winemaker Julian Fayard, library wine collectors and vintners Cal and Pam Nicolson, and California wine collectors and horse enthusiasts Dave and Laura Nestor. They came together with the single purpose of producing fine wines crafted in Napa Valley. Their estate is located in the Coombsville AVA of Napa Valley on the eastern hills of the Vacas Mountains. The underground winery is very difficult to distinguish between the vineyard and oak trees, so they decided to call it “Covert.”
The team’s wine philosophy starts in the vineyard using a balance of French and California winemaking techniques. The vines are planted on a southeast facing slope in soils composed of volcanic ash, volcanic rocks, and rich loam that are cooled by the fog from San Pablo Bay. The property has 4.5 acres of estate vineyards as well as 6 acres that are farmed outside of Coombsville.
Regarding the Covert Estate 2021 Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon recently sent to club members, the team harvested grapes from Coombsville’s Langley Park Vineyard and Papa’s Vineyard, followed by full de-stemming and optical sorting. Fermentation occurred naturally with minimal SO₂ additions, first using classic Bordeaux-inspired maceration in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks followed by Malolactic fermentation in barrel with minimal racking prior to blending. The wine was aged for 24 months in 80% French oak and 20% American oak, with a portion finished in concrete eggs to refine acidity naturally. The resulting wine is then bottled without fining or filtration.”
Most clients discover Covert wines directly through the winery by making an appointment to taste in their cavelike salon tasting room. Robb Report 672 Club members are certainly welcome to make an appointment by email contact@covertestate.com or by calling 707-337-5943.
