About the Vintage.

A great vintage celebrates the weather; a challenging one showcases the skill of the vigneron. Extreme weather conditions demand split-second judgment calls that can make or break the vintage. Failure to act can lead to ruin . . . but overreaction can, too. It takes a steady and experienced hand at the helm to guide a vineyard through turbulent times to a Grand Vin worthy of the name.

The first months of 2017 brought torrential winter rains that replenished Napa Valley’s drought-parched soils. Vine health was high, with good spring weather and abundant growth. Several early summer heat spikes and a record-breaking heat wave over Labor Day weekend pushed sugar accumulation ahead of normal, and many vignerons picked early in a panic. Jason Dumont chose to wait out the sweltering heat, allowing the grapes’ phenolics to catch up with the sugars and restore the natural balance of the fruit.

We picked all fruit at full ripeness, before the deadly October wildfires broke out. Careful controls under the most challenging of crush conditions ensured no smoke contamination, and rigorous lab testing returned clean results throughout vinification and bottling.