Aubry Les Belles Filles Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville 2019

Crafting fine wines begins in the vineyard, and truly terroir-driven wines require finesse in the vines and cellar, with decision-making focused on showcasing the land versus the winemaker’s stamp. Vintner/winemaker, Dylan Lundstrom of Aubry Wines, has spent his career seeking ways to improve the equipment, techniques, and systems used in grape growing and alleviate the boundaries to operating organically and sustainably as growers. His personal brand’s inaugural release of the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon from Coombsville represents the culmination of years of research in the study of viticulture and the nerve to craft a wine entirely from start to finish.

Dylan graduated from Cal Poly with a Bachelor’s Degree in Viticulture and Enology in 2010 and spent the 2011 and 2012 harvests in New Zealand and Paso Robles. He continued learning at L’Institut Agro Montpellier in France, earning a Master of Science in the same field. Upon graduation, Dylan traveled throughout the country’s wine regions, visiting top producers to study the various techniques they employed in their vineyards. Finally, he settled in Napa in 2014, where he interned with the Fruition Sciences consulting firm to complete his thesis work in vineyard irrigation. In this role and his subsequent role as an Account Manager for Ranch Systems, he worked hand in hand with growers to assess their needs, understand the intricacies of their properties, and troubleshoot the best methodologies and systems available to better the quality of their fruit.

His 2018 harvest with Matthiasson Wines, where he worked in the vineyards and the cellar and observed their implementation of organic practices in Napa, cemented Dylan’s aspirations to venture out independently. So, in early 2019, he leased a 1-acre vineyard in Coombsville AVA and immediately began the laborious task of transitioning to regenerative practices and doing so by hand. Outside of the assistance from friends and family during harvest, Dylan cares for this vineyard as a one-person show and has poured his passion into these vines. All with the end goal of producing a wine that needs little assistance after fermentation and demonstrates the pedigree of the vines.

Hand-harvested during two rounds, once in late September and again in early October, the debut 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Aubry embraces subtlety and depth. The wine aged for 24 months in French oak barrels, 25% of which were new and the remaining neutral. Blue and red fruit aromatics fill the glass, masking underlying spice and floral notes like purple rose and black cardamom. Linear, racy acidity focuses the palate, with just enough finely textured tannins to round out the finish. Only 100 cases were produced for Dylan’s inaugural release!