Purlieu Wines is one of the personal labels of Julien Fayard, a French-born winemaker who has become a key figure in Coombsville. Fayard trained at Château Lafite-Rothschild, the First Growth in Bordeaux's Pauillac, and also worked in Provence before moving to Napa Valley in 2006 to work alongside consulting winemaker Philippe Melka. He now runs his own labels, Purlieu and Le Pich, both centered on Cabernet Sauvignon from Coombsville, the cool district in the southeastern corner of Napa Valley. He describes his approach as meticulous and low intervention, aiming for wines that show their site rather than heavy oak or extraction. Fayard is also a co-founder and the winemaker of Covert Estate in Coombsville, so his style runs through several of the district's newer wines. Purlieu's wines are made in small quantities and sold mainly direct. For HeyVino readers, Purlieu is a way to taste Coombsville Cabernet from a Bordeaux-trained winemaker.