Vintage Notes

From the shy-bearing hilltop east of the town of Napa that John's grandfather originally intended for his stone quarry. The oldest vines have been fighting it out with the rocks for fifty years and have found their equilibrium at barely one ton per acre — a tiny crop of miniature golden clusters. As in the best vintages, you seem to taste the rocks before you perceive the fruit: citrus zest ramping up to orange marmalade and honey, over an almost fierce, palate-saturating minerality of magnificent length. The Judge (John's father) would have been 104 this year.

Our historic blend of the Hudson and Hyde vineyards now includes several new sources including the aptly named Arcadia vineyard in Coombsville which was planted by the legendary Warren Winiarski. The indigenous yeast worked slowly through the winter — can yeast really be heroic, even Homeric? We think so — shifting the fruitiness of the wine to the horizon of perception and allowing the minerality to come into the foreground. Look for poached pear, orange blossom, and roasted almonds, the flinty aroma we love in white Burgundy, and a full, layered finish focused by great acidity.

From the same rocky vineyard in Carneros since the inception of the brand in 1996, thinned as always to one cluster per shoot. The style remains midway between Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage: explosive aromas of wild blackberry, smoked meat, gunflint, and black pepper — suggesting, in certain moods, wild boar in its mushroomy forest habitat. While it ferments we respectfully stay out of its way, watching in awe from the edge of the wilds. Taste it young to admire its virile ferocity, or age a few bottles until it has acquired some manners.

The return of our co-fermented blend of Viognier, Sauvignon blanc, and Chardonnay, organically grown in the volcanic vineyards surrounding the winery on the eastern rim of Napa Valley. As with the VioRous of old, the high, ethereal voice of the Viognier is brought down to earth by its companions — the Sauvignon blanc's laser brightness and the Chardonnay's stony depth. Raised for ten months in clay amphora and very old barrels, this elixir sets a new standard of hedonism up on our mountain: orange zest, stone fruit, and honeysuckle floating over a satin texture and an uncanny length. The long, gentle 2025 season on the mountain — barely a hot day all summer — suited it perfectly.