Our Wines
Somerston wines showcase the highest quality single block wines on the property. With each vintage, the best sites are selected to produce distinctive block-designate wines that are appropriately structured and balanced, with significant aging potential. The property's well-drained soils and microclimates convey the distinctive sense of place that is found in each of our wines. An estate wine should be even more expressive and consistent each year. From vintage to vintage our expectations grow.
“The great wines of the world all have a sense of place. It is the winemaker’s role to capture the estate’s potential in every bottle, without a heavy hand.”
XCVI Cabernet Sauvignon
XCVI Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation/Vineyards
Each of our Somerston Estate wines is produced from a single block on our 1,682-acre estate, high in the eastern hills of Napa Valley. This estate bottled wine is sourced solely from Celestial Block XCVI, one of our best vineyard blocks. It is a beautiful hillside vineyard with an average elevation of 1,100 feet above sea level.
Winemaking
All of the grapes for this wine were hand-picked. Then they were de-stemmed, sorted, and pumped into a tank for a five-day cold soak at 50°. When the fermentation began, we pumped over the tank twice per day. Native yeast fermentation lasted for 16 days, followed by a short heated extended maceration of 3 days. The free run was drained from the tank overnight. The wine was barreled down into 70% new French oak and 30% once used barrels. Malolactic fermentation occurred naturally in the barrel. This wine was barrel-aged for 24 months and bottled unfiltered.
Harvest Notes
Everything about the 2015 vintage was early, from bud break in early March to harvest. The warm summer days and lighter than standard yields also accelerated the start of harvest. We began to picking fruit from Block XCVI on September 9th and were done on September 14th.
Wine Specs
LXXII Cabernet Franc
LXXII Cabernet Franc
Appellation/Vineyards
Somerston wines are selected from single blocks of our 1,6182-acre estate, high in the eastern hills of Napa Valley. This estate-bottled wine was sourced from our Deerhound vineyard, Block LXII, with an average elevation of 900 feet above sea level. This vineyard grows on well-drained rocky soils referred to as a Los Gatos formation.
Winemaking
We began to handpick the Cabernet Franc on October 3rd and deliver the fruit to the winery. The grapes were de-stemmed and sorted, then pumped into tanks for a 5-day cold soak at 50 degrees. When the fermentation began, we pumped the tank over twice per day. The native yeast fermentation lasted for 14 days. The free run was drained from the tank overnight. The wine was barreled down into 50% new French oak; the balance was put into once-used French oak barrels. Malolactic fermentation occurred naturally in the barrel. The wine was aged for 24 months and bottled.
Harvest Notes
The 2014 vintage was the third straight year of near perfect growing conditions. The long growing season had warm temperatures, mild heat spikes, and consistent weather throughout harvest. This vintage, we started harvesting our Cabernet Franc on October 3rd and completed on October 10th. The excellent conditions allowed the Cabernet Franc grapes to hang longer on the vine and develop more character.
Wine Specs
IV Merlot
IV Merlot
Appellation/Vineyards
Each of our Somerston Estate wines is produced from a single block on our 1,682-acre estate, high in the eastern hills of Napa Valley. This estate-bottled wine is sourced from our most expressive Merlot vineyard, Sortnoway Block IV. This vineyard has an average elevation of 1,150 feet above sea level and is grown on loam soils.
Winemaking
The grapes for this wine were hand-picked and delivered to the winery. They were sorted by hand, de-stemmed, and fed to small stainless tanks, then pumped into a tank for a five-day cold soak at 50 degrees. When the fermentation began, we pumped over the tank twice per day. Native yeast fermentation lasted for 16 days, followed by a short heated extended maceration of 3 days. The free run was drained from the tank overnight. The wine was barrelled down into 70% new French oak, and 305 once used French oak barrels. Malolactic fermentation occurred naturally in the barrel. This wine was barrel-aged for 24 months and bottled in January of 2018.
Harvest Notes
The 2014 vintage was the third straight year of near-perfect growing conditions. The long growing season had warm temperatures, mild heat spikes, and consistent weather throughout harvest. We harvested all of our Merlot from Stornoway Block IV on October 3rd. The excellent conditions this year allowed the fruit to hang longer on the vine and develop superb flavor concentration.
Wine Specs
LXXI Sauvignon Blanc
LXXI Sauvignon Blanc
Appellation/Vineyards
Somerston wines are produced from select blocks at our 1,682-acre estate, high in the eastern hills of Napa Valley. This estate-bottled wine is sourced from Block LXXI with an elevation of 850 asl.
Winemaking
The small yellow clusters were picked in the early morning, then whole-cluster-pressed and fermented for 18 months in 50% new French oak and 50% once-used French oak. The wine was barrel-aged sur lie for six months with two stirrings per month, and bottled on April 18, 2019.
This vintage displays all the characteristics that we expect from this great vineyard site. The mineral nose shows bright tropical notes of mango, grapefruit, and citrus. On the palate, delicious fruit flavors of poached pear, vanilla, and grilled citrus fruit are highlighted by light oak and a persistent finish.
Harvest Notes
The warm summer days and crisp nights provided ideal conditions for producing balanced fruit with grape ripeness, bright acidity, and full flavor throughout the near-perfect growing season. In 2017, we harvested our Sauvignon Blanc vineyards on August 23rd.
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