Situated directly above our Crystal Springs Vineyard, the Lotus Vineyard presents our team with the challenge of farming slopes ranging from 35 to 40 degrees at an elevation of 1,200 feet. Given these extreme aspects, this is our only site where farming is all painstakingly performed by hand. The entirety of the Lotus Vineyard is planted on core stone bedrock and is nearly 95% dry farmed. The bedrock at, or just beneath, the surface causes the vines’ roots to struggle in search for water below resulting in wines that are compelling for their power, intensity, vibrancy, and tension.
It’s one thing to farm vine-by-vine when your vineyard is on the valley floor -- readily accessible and relatively even. At Lotus, even the drive up to the vineyard is a bit harrowing. Perched at 1,200 ft (365.76 meters) above sea level on the slopes of Howell Mountain, Lotus looks almost impossible to farm as you approach. Tractors cannot manage the Lotus slopes; therefore, all vineyard work is done by hand.
The entirety of the Lotus Vineyard is planted on core stone bedrock. The vines’ roots force their way through this nearly impenetrable mass to search for water below. Just prior to California’s most recent 5-year drought, the viticultural team converted this vineyard to nearly 100% dry-farming. In a drought year, we might irrigate twice. The result is vines that are resilient and can easily bounce back after a period of drought with less damage and desiccation than their irrigated counterparts.
Core Stone
Bedrock
Dark fruit, structural power, nuance, freshness
Cabernet Sauvignon: 337, 4, 15 SEE
Petit Verdot: 400
Cabernet Sauvignon: 110R, 3309
Petit Verdot: 3309
At harvest time the fruit from the Lotus Vineyard may be about the size of a wild blueberry and with thick skins. This can make for a potentially aggressive wine, lacking our wines’ hallmarks of balance and elegance. To ease the intensity, we have selected concrete tanks as the fermentation vessel for fruit from Lotus. In concrete we can closely monitor the temperature during maceration and fermentation to eliminate spikes in either direction. In our experience, a long and cool fermentation crafts a wine whose structure is spread across the length of the palate, bringing balance and finesse to the wine.
To understand VASO, you must first understand the land upon which the grapes are grown. VASO represents our four distinct vineyard sites spread throughout the Napa Valley. Whether it be through the technical and measurable characteristics of slope, aspect, soil type, sunlight hours, or the more spiritual intangibles that make a site unique and lend the fruit its singular personality, the land is the vital core of our wines and our vision for the future.
