Reviews
- The Wine Palate -
- James Suckling -
Technical Details
- Kent Jarman
- US
- California
- California
- Napa Valley
- 14.8%
Coup de Foudre Cabernet Sauvignon Lightning Bolt Napa Valley 2023
Multi-Bottle Discount
Limited-time offer: Add 2+ bottles to your cart and receive 50% savings!
Coup de Foudre is all about capturing that lightning strike moment that forever alters your destiny. It’s a notion that inspired founder John Schwartz to start his winery, and a theme that carries through each of his wines. This 97-point Cabernet Sauvignon is powerfully rich, captivatingly layered, and drops down in price on two bottles, with free shipping on three...
Vigneron John Schwartz (CEO of Amuse Bouche and Au Sommet) tells the story of meeting his wife like it’s a “coup de foudre” – (koo dah foo drah) or, as the French describe it, love at first sight that’s as shocking as a lightning strike. Spotting her across a bar in the French Alps, he knew he had to capture her attention and yelled “FEU” (“fire” in French) in order to pull her away from another suitor, and the rest is history. He opened Coup de Foudre with winemaker Kent Jarman (Duckhorn, Somerston, Kenefick Ranch, and more) in the same spirit – with a hope to make attention-grabbing, diligently crafted, and explosive Bordeaux wines from the best of Napa’s vineyards.
The 2023 Lightning Bolt is the winery's only 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, and is only produced in vintages that are solid enough to deem a 100% Cab worthy, pulled from two epic locales – upper Atlas Peak’s volcanic soils and the west-facing alluvial fan soils of Calistoga. A little mountain fruit, a little valley fruit – marrying the best of their qualities to develop a Cabernet that’s all at once brooding and intense, as well as aromatic, ripe, and silky.
Produced with sustainable applications, it showcases brilliant notes of blackberry jam, dusty cacao, baking spices, crushed gravel, cigar box, and rose petals for a Cabernet that’s smooth, layered, and splendidly approachable now, with loads of power to continue aging for upwards of 20-plus years. Extremely limited barrels are produced in the years it’s even in production – making this some mega-rare juice from a Napa stalwart that continues to sling zingers!
PAIRING IDEAS: Grilled flank steak is one of my favorite cuts at the moment – but you’ve got to prep it right. Follow this recipe with a quick garlic marinade to get the most tender, juicy steak that will, of course, be a dream with this tremendous Cab.