On Wednesday, May 28, 2025, we had the opportunity to interview Cabell Coursey. Cabell is the winemaker for CHEV, CIRQ, and Lombardi Wines. We covered four CHEV wines, three Lombardi wines, and the most recent Cirq. All eight wines were from the 2022 vintage. These wines are considered premium offerings and are available to members who sign up for allocations.
Before we get to the wines, I thought I would share some tidbits that Cabell shared in the interview.
- Cabell started his career in Burgundy.
- He went to the University of Dijon
- He received his MS in Enology and Viticulture from Lincoln University in New Zealand.
- He has worked in Germany, France, New Zealand & Australia.
- He did 4 harvests in 1 year in Germany.
- He worked 3 years in France.
- He did one harvest on New Zealand and Australia.
- Cabell likes to use his senses and chemistry in his winemaking.
- He also prefers a slow vs. fast press approach.
- He was the winemaker at Dumol and then was hired by Kosta Browne. (Both he and Tony worked at Kosta Browne)
- Cabell did consulting and winemaking for Flanagan from 2013 to 2020.
- Christine and Tony Lombardi started their Lombardi brand in 2013.
- They started with a barrel of Chardonnay and a barrel of Pinot Noir.
- He initially had his production at the Coursey Graves facility. As of 2024 they are now a Rodney Strong’s custom crush facility.
- Tony grew up with Michael Browne and Dan Kosta.
- Tony prefers a Chablis style for his Chardonnay.
- Tony’s “Sonoma Coast” Pinot is a blend of Martaella and Gap’s Crown vineyards.
- Tony’s Gap’s Crown Pinot comes from Block 13 which is 100% 777 clone.
- Cabell likes the lower vines in this vineyard. Cooler temperatures.
- Sarah and Michael Browne are the co-owners of Browne Family Wines, which includes CHEV and CIRQ.
- Some tidbits on the CHEV wines.
- The 2022 CHEV wines were made by Jeremiah Timm who is now Director of Winemaking at Paul Hobbs.
- Cabell finished the blends in 2023. He fully made the 2024 wines.
- Michael Browne is very involved with the picking decisions.
- The CHEV 2022 Chard was sourced from Ritchie, Bootleggers Hill, & Ellen’s Lane.
- The 2022 Santa Rita Hills comes from a high elevation site called the Spear Vineyard.
- The 2022 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot was source from Garys’, Rosella’s and Sierra Mar Vineyards
- These Rosella’s and Sierra Mar Vineyards are owned Gary and Rosella Franscioni. Garys’ is a partnership between Gary Franscioni and Gary Pisoni.
- We also learned that Michael, Adam Lee, Gary Franscioni, and Gary Pisoni are all pretty tight friends.
- Pinot Vintage advice from Cabell
- Drink the 2021’s
- Hold the 2023’s
- In 2023, a big crop allowed them to select the grapes in this vintage.
- This vintage will also get even better with some bottle age.
- CIRQ is one wine, each vintage.
- It is 100% Russian River fruit.
- Typically it is 100 to 150 barrels.
- The 2022 vintage was sourced mainly from the Giudici Vineyard, along with some from the Graham Vineyard, and the Lazy G Ranch in the Green Valley section of the Russian River.
Below is a summary of the wine offerings from CHEV, Cirq, and Lombardi that we covered with Cabell. The links below are to our full reviews. If you are interested in ordering and trying these wines, here is how you do it. You can join their allocation lists via these website links. Join CHEV. Join CIRQ. Join Lombardi.
- Lombardi 2022 Chardonnay “Russian River Valley” $56 (KWGTP 93)
- Lombardi 2022 Pinot Noir “Sonoma Coast” $56 (KWGTP 92.5)
- Lombardi 2022 Pinot Noir “Gaps Crown Vineyard” (Petaluma Gap) $68 (KWGTP 93.5)
- CHEV 2022 Chardonnay “Russian River Valley” $80 (KWGTP 93.5)
- CHEV 2022 Pinot Noir “Russian River Valley” $80 (KWGTP 93.5)
- CHEV 2022 Pinot Noir “Santa Lucia Highlands” $80 (KWGTP 94)
- CHEV 2022 Pinot Noir “Santa Rita Hills” $80 (KWGTP 93)
- CIRQ 2021 Pinot Noir “Russian River Valley” $150 (KWGTP 96) (Covered Previously)
- CIRQ 2022 Pinot Noir “Russian River Valley” $175 (KWGTP 95.5)
You can find reviews of past and future Lombardi wines that we cover on the Lombardi KWG winery page on our website. The same goes for CHEV and CIRQ. We hope you enjoy these terrific wines as much as we did. Cheers! – Ken