Born from Volcanic Loam.
The bedrock of Block 7 is a deep stratum of ancient volcanic ash, compressed over millennia into a tight-grained loam that forces our vines to fight. Roots descend twelve meters, competing for every mineral trace. The struggle is the flavor.
Iron-rich and porous, the soil drains with surgical precision — no standing water, no excessive vigor. What grows here grows with intention.
"The vine does not yield to the soil here. It negotiates with it."
— Thomas Keller, Estate Winemaker
Fog and Fire.
By dawn, the marine layer pushes inland from the bay — a cold, silencing fog that cools the canopy and preserves acidity. By noon, the Oakville floor ignites. Temperatures swing thirty degrees in sixteen hours. This diurnal shift is our secret architecture.
That tension — cool dawn, scorched afternoon — is what creates the paradox in the glass: ripe tannins alongside a razor-fine acid spine. Structure and opulence, simultaneously.
Hand-Selected at Dawn.
We harvest exclusively between 4 and 7 AM. Cluster temperatures remain below 60°F. No mechanical sorting — every grape passes through the hands of a dedicated harvest team trained to reject anything less than perfect. Out of a typical 3-ton block, we may keep 1.8 tons.
The remainder is left on the vine for the birds. We believe the best winemaking decision is often the decision not to pick.
