Shannon Family Devil's Well spotlight
Clay Shannon is on camera for the official Shannon Family of Wines channel, tasting his Cabernet program. This 2020 Devil's Well is Shannon Family's small Napa Valley Cabernet from Coombsville.
The market on this bottle
Look up this bottle on Wine-Searcher for live market prices.
2020 Devil's Well Napa Valley Cabernet (92CT)
Clay Shannon's tiny Coombsville Cabernet with Merlot fill, CellarTracker 92, a 100-case 2020 you can open at twenty-nine dollars.
The 2020 Devil's Well is 76 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 24 percent Merlot from Coombsville: blackberry, plum, cocoa, and tobacco after 15 months in 50 percent new oak, now $29.
A 100-case Coombsville Cabernet, not a Lake County leftover
Devil's Well is Shannon Family's Napa Valley Cabernet, not a High Valley bulk red. The 2020 is 76 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 24 percent Merlot from Coombsville volcanic ground with cooling afternoon breeze. Fifteen months in 50 percent new oak. About 100 cases. CellarTracker 92. The live page is a bin-end stub, so we will not invent a Parker or Spectator number. What is locked is Coombsville fruit, a tiny fill, and a $115 typical that still sits on the bottle. This is the wine that puts Shannon's Napa Cabernet on a steak at twenty-nine dollars.
The house
Clay Shannon built Shannon Family of Wines from Lake County ranching, then bottled this Napa Cabernet as Devil's Well, a flagship rarity on the list.
The wine
76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot. Coombsville. 15 months, 50% new oak. 15% ABV. About 100 cases.
The scores
CellarTracker 92. No invented critic number. The proof is the site, the fill, and the typical retail.
The drinker
Blackberry and cocoa first. Decant 30 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Ribeye or short ribs.
Blackberry and plum, then cocoa, tobacco, and an inky close
The glass is dark. Blackberry and plum lead, then cocoa, tobacco, and dark cherry on velvety tannin. Fifteen percent alcohol from a small, warm Napa year. Fifteen months of half-new oak polish the frame without turning it into a toast costume. CellarTracker 92. Air helps the tobacco settle.
Napa 2020 was a fire year and a small crop. Coombsville's cooler pocket and volcanic soils are why this Cabernet was bottled at all. Drink now through the early 2030s with air.
Blackberry, plum, dark cherry, cocoa, tobacco.
Full, 15% ABV, 15 months 50% new oak, velvety tannin, 100-case fill.
Inky dark fruit, cocoa. Decant 30 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F.
Coombsville fruit, then 15 months of half-new oak
Cabernet Sauvignon leads at 76 percent. Merlot fills 24 percent so the middle stays plush. Coombsville volcanic soils and afternoon breeze thicken skins. Fifteen months in 50 percent new oak is the polish, not a costume. 15 percent alcohol. About 100 cases. The live sheet does not print a hidden vineyard name, so we will not invent one.
Clay Shannon's Lake County ranch is the larger house. Devil's Well is the Napa Cabernet chapter.
Decant 30 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. A steak is enough.
A Shannon Family Napa Cabernet with a well on the label
Clay Shannon farmed grapes for other people before bottling his own. Devil's Well is the Napa name in that book, not a Lake County second label.
Shannon Family of Wines is still Clay's house. High Valley and Red Hills made the volume. Devil's Well is the tiny Napa Cabernet.
Coombsville sits south and east of the valley floor, volcanic, cooler in the afternoon. That is the brief on this bottle.
The 2020 is that idea after a hard Napa year: 100 cases, CellarTracker 92, twenty-nine dollars against $115 typical.
Steak on the pan, short ribs in the pot
Inky Coombsville Cabernet wants char and collagen. Ribeye takes the cocoa. A short-rib braise takes the tobacco close.
Two plates. One butter-basted ribeye. One red-wine short rib. Both can take 15 percent tannin.
Decant 30 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Bordeaux stems.
Butter-Basted Ribeye
A hard crust for a 100-case Coombsville Cabernet.
Why it works: Fat and char cushion velvety tannin while browned beef pulls blackberry, cocoa, and tobacco.
View Recipe for butter-basted ribeye (opens in a new tab)
Red Wine-Braised Beef Short Ribs
A slow braise for plum, cocoa, and the 2020's inky close.
Why it works: Collagen softens 15 percent grip. Reduction echoes blackberry and tobacco.
View Recipe for red wine braised short ribs (opens in a new tab)Put this Devil's Well in the cart
Clay Shannon, Coombsville, CellarTracker 92, 100 cases. Twenty-nine dollars.
Put it in the cart. This is the Shannon Napa Cabernet for a table that wants a tiny Coombsville fill, not a Lake County slogan.
