South Hill, planted in 1975, was our first Pinot Noir site. After a phylloxera scare in Anderson Valley, we replanted the upper block in 2002 with ENTAV clone 777 on 101-14, a phylloxera-resistant rootstock. We farm without herbicides, so phylloxera spread has been slower than expected.
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The vineyard is located at an elevation of 280 to 320 feet; the upper and middle sections have thinner soil, and the vines struggle for water as the season progresses.
The middle and lower blocks were replanted in 2014 to ENTAV clones 667 and 115 on 3309c, with a small patch of FPS 73 (identical to ENTAV 115) on SO4 in the deeper soils at the base of the hill. South Hill typically produces our fullest bodied Pinot Noir. At the Los Angeles Invitational, judges awarded the wine a Gold Medal, praising its flavors of “leather, cola, and blueberry.”
Gold Medal winner.
