As we prepared the land for our estate vineyard, we encountered many challenges and opportunities. Acknowledging the unique and wild beauty of the site, we took several years and great care in considering the balance of the natural beauty and mature oak trees, with winding blocks of grapes that flow organically into pockets of native landscape. The limestone shelves presented a particular challenge. We always hoped to have the limestone of our soils be part of the rugged character of the vineyard but when we discovered the magnitude of the limestone shelf running through the center of our main block, our vineyard site turned into a quarry. Rock sawing massive boulders out of the ground one by one, we folded the limestone dust it created back into the soil. Our hope is that the harshness and minerality of the Quarry Block will be expressed in the vines and translate to rich wines with complex characteristics that are as unique and beautiful as the land from which they come.
The land has never been developed before, so we spent two years documenting its natural beauty and making sure that we honored its original state before breaking ground.
We spent a year preparing to clear the Vineyard and deciding which trees to keep. The process was thoughtful and slow. As a result, we have unique small blocks that are anchored by patches of raw land and weave from one to the next.
We harvested all of the live oaks that had to be removed for the vineyard and had them milled into lumber that will be used to build furniture that gets returned to the Vineyard.
We burned the debris from clearing and allowed the carbon to mix with our soil to add fertility.
Our limestone blocks that were pulled from the Quarry Block will be used for retaining walls, landscaping, and furniture through out the Estate.
This illustration, printed on the first vintage of our Blanc Nourri shows the avenue being built down the center of our Quarry Block leading to our largest Oak Trees on the estate. We will be using this avenue for dinners and events.
