Founded in 1983 by Gus and Phyllis Anderson, their son, Todd and daughter-in-law, Dana Anderson. The vineyards are in the heart of the Napa Valley just five minutes east of St. Helena and are located where Conn Creek flows out of Howell Mountain. The property is separated from the Napa Valley floor by a ridge running north and south. The world renowned wineries of Joseph Phelps and Joseph Heitz are located on the west side of the ridge and the Anderson's Estate vineyards on the east side at the 400 foot elevation.

The soils are deeply gravelly clay loam of the Bale Loam series -- the same soil found in the Rutherford Bench. The quadralateral cordoned vineyards are non-irrigated, a practice that drives the roots of the vines deep into the soil in search of moisture and nutrients. This develops deeper more complex flavors due to the greater proportion of skin to juice contact that occurs with small berries. When the grapes reach full maturity, they are harvested and brought to the winery in less than 30 minutes where they are de-stemmed only, prior to whole berry fermentation.

After fermentation, the wines receive an extended maceration of approximately three weeks prior to a very light pressing. After racking, the wines are placed into the hillside caves on the property. Only French oak barrels are used for aging and each vineyard block is kept segregated until the final blend is determined just before bottling. Seguin Moreau Chateau barrels are the barrels of choice. The chateau barrel is made from the choicest 10% of the oak tree containing the tightest, most uniform grain. The thinner staves of the chateau barrel allows for more uniform, deeper levels of the toasted wood and prevents the wine from picking up any rough tannins found in the untoasted wood. After one and a half to two years of barrel aging, the wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered and bottle aged until release.

Our very special micro-climate makes it possible to develop a classic, hand-crafted, world-class Estate wine.

"Very ripe and forward, this soft, creamy textured wine has loads of fat blackcurrant fruit flavors, medium to full body, as well as excellent depth and length."
--Robert Parker

Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards / 680 Rossi Road / St Helena, CA 94574 / 707-963-8600

 


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