Surrounding the town of Yountville, the Yountville American Viticultural Area (AVA) holds the key to the story of Napa Valley. The first grapes in Napa were planted here in 1836—the rest is history.
The Yountville AVA is in the southern part of the Napa Valley with vineyards planted at lower elevations. The days are sunny and warm, but the brilliance of this region lies in its proximity to San Pablo Bay. In the mornings, cool breezes move in from the bay, keeping the temperature from getting too hot and providing balance to the grapes. These temperature swings offer power and intensity to the wines, and in the same stroke, refinement.
Our literary hero, Edgar Allan Poe, would understand the dichotomy of power and restraint that our winemakers of Yountville achieve every year. His haunting stories are told with precision and elegance, and his legacy of making art for art’s sake reminds us so much of Yountville AVA wines.
Poe’s poems, short stories, and even his literary criticism demonstrate a psychological intensity and depth that lurks beneath a refined facade. Similarly, the many microclimates of the Yountville AVA create wines with tension and many unexpected twists.
A Tell-Tale Terroir
What is it about Yountville that creates such emotional wines? The answer can be found in the environmental conditions that influence the wines’ quality—soil, elevation, sun aspect, and climate.
The Yountville AVA is 16 square miles of gravelly silt loam and gravelly alluvial soils with rock. These well-draining soils encourage the vines to dig deep into the earth in search of nutrients, drumming up profoundly striking wines year after year.
Vineyards are planted between 20 and 200 feet elevation, and enjoy long, sunny afternoons which translate to highly concentrated flavors. Still, oceanic influence cools the vines significantly, especially those in the south. As vineyards move north, the climate becomes warmer still, and this changes the character of the grapes, and in turn the wines.
Poe and our Yountville AVA Wines
Each year’s climate and weather events make a big impact on our protagonist: Cabernet Sauvignon. Known for its ability to express terroir with eloquence, Cabernet takes on an imaginative, suspenseful quality here that pairs with Poe’s works. We’ve paired each of our vintages with a quote from Poe, many of which are pulled from his literary criticism.
The 2017 vintage had many curveballs, including an unprecedented firestorm. “There is no exquisite beauty… without some strangeness in the proportion.”
2018 was seamless and heavenly, with abundant, ripe fruit. “Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears.”
The 2019 bottle has a unique finesse with a soft brilliance. “Invisible things are the only realities.”
In 2021, drought was a challenge, and the fruit is full of flavor and profound intensity. “I was never really insane except upon occasions when my heart was touched.”
In 2022, we recognized that variability would be our new normal and that creating wines with depth remains the goal. “That which you mistake for madness is but an overacuteness of the senses.”
2023 was a beautiful, long growing season with mild weather. This wine is fresh, elegant, with longevity. “A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it.”
The poetry and power of Yountville Cabernet
The striking wines of Yountville take on the character of the many microclimates found throughout the region. Even the slightest change can create a whole new world for our wines from North to South. Approach our Yountville bottles as you would an Edgar Allan Poe tale: expect the unexpected, and never settle for anything less than brilliance.