Coho Wines producer spotlight
Wine Talks: founder Gary Lipp discusses Coho Wines and the project's history. First-person producer interview, 2019, the house behind this Headwaters red.
The market on this bottle
Look up this bottle on Wine-Searcher for live market prices.
2023 Coho Headwaters Red Napa Valley, USA
Keith Emerson's Napa Headwaters red, Cabernet-led fruit from St. Helena to Oak Knoll, a 2023 you can open at thirty-five dollars.
The 2023 Headwaters is 74 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 21 percent Merlot with Malbec and Cabernet Franc: Bing cherry, black currant, plum, and cardamom after 18 months in 40 percent new French oak, now $35.
A revived Napa red with Melka-trained hands, not a mystery blend
Coho was Gary Lipp and Brooks Painter's Napa project. For 2023, Keith Emerson, trained with Philippe Melka and known for Vineyard 29, took the cellar. He sourced Cabernet, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc from St. Helena, Rutherford, Oak Knoll, and Moon Mountain. Optically sorted whole berries, three-day cold soak, 18 months in 40 percent new French oak. This is the bottle that puts Headwaters back on a weeknight roast.
The house
Gary Lipp founded Coho as a focused Napa red project named for the salmon. Keith Emerson makes the 2023.
The wine
74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, with Malbec and Cabernet Franc. Whole-berry cold soak, 18 months, 40% new French oak.
The vintage
A low-yield Napa year with small berries. Emerson's 2023 is polished, juicy, and built through about 2035.
The drinker
Decant 20 to 30 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Short ribs or mushroom polenta.
Cherry and currant, then chocolate and cardamom
The 2023 note opens on Bing cherry, black currant, and dried florals, with cardamom and integrated French oak. The palate is medium to full, seamless, fresh and juicy, with ripe plum, dark chocolate, and baking spices, supple tannin, and a long finish. Approachable now, built to age.
A low-yield year of small, intense berries after a demanding season. Emerson's Headwaters keeps freshness on the entry and grip on the close. Drink now through the mid-2030s.
Bing cherry, black currant, plum, dried florals, cardamom, French oak.
Medium to full, seamless, supple tannin, 18 months in 40% new French oak.
Dark chocolate, baking spice, a long close. Decant 20 to 30 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F.
Whole berries, a three-day soak, then 18 months of French oak
Keith Emerson crushed optically sorted whole berries, cold-soaked three days, then aged the 2023 18 months in tight-grained French oak, 40 percent new. The blend is Cabernet-led: 74 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 21 percent Merlot, with Malbec and Cabernet Franc from St. Helena, Rutherford, Oak Knoll, and Moon Mountain. That is why cherry and currant stay juicy while chocolate and spice fill the middle.
Emerson came to Coho after the brand paused. The 2023 is his first Headwaters: Melka-school sorting, then a Napa red meant to drink.
Decant 20 to 30 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. The tannin is already polite.
A salmon name, a Napa red, a second life
Coho takes its name from the fish, a symbol of persistence. Headwaters is the Napa red that carried the project.
Gary Lipp and Brooks Painter built Coho as a small Napa red house. Lipp talks through that beginning in the 2019 Wine Talks interview.
After a pause, Keith Emerson revived Headwaters with the 2023, sourcing across St. Helena, Rutherford, Oak Knoll, and Moon Mountain.
The 2023 is that second chapter: Cabernet-led, 18 months in oak, a Napa red priced for Tuesday as well as a cellar corner.
Short ribs in the pot, mushrooms on polenta
Headwaters wants a slow braise or a savory meatless plate. Short ribs and mushroom polenta are the 5175 pairings, reused here.
Two plates. One red-wine-braised short rib. One oven polenta with roasted mushrooms.
Decant 20 to 30 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F.
Red-wine-braised short ribs
Slow braising builds savory depth and tenderness for a Cabernet-led Napa red.
Why it works: The braise supplies richness. Plum and chocolate in the 2023 meet the reduction.
View Recipe for red-wine-braised short ribs (opens in a new tab)
Oven polenta with roasted mushrooms
Creamy polenta cushions the dish while roasted mushrooms add earthy contrast.
Why it works: Umami meets cardamom and dried florals. Polenta softens supple tannin.
View Recipe for oven polenta with roasted mushrooms and thyme (opens in a new tab)Put this Headwaters red in the cart
Keith Emerson. Cabernet-led Napa. Thirty-five dollars against a $65 typical retail.
Put it in the cart. This is the Coho bottle for a table that wants current-vintage Napa red without a mailing list.
