Fate is a great provider. I connected with the Tierra Roja Vineyard through a chain of friendships, patiently nurtured over time. Don Kruger and I met working together at Hartwell, but over the next decade we grew from coworkers to close friends. When he told me I needed to work with fruit from his friend Linda’s site, because her fruit would be a great match for my winemaking style, I listened to him. We were thrilled when all the pieces fell into place for the 2021 vintage.
Tierra Roja sits on the east side of Oakville, neighbored by Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle, and Rudd. Originally planted to vine in the 1920s by the Denatale family, the property came into its own under Linda Neal’s stewardship. Linda and her family ran a Napa Valley vineyard management company for many years, and she terraced the sloping hillsides and replanted with Cabernet Sauvignon in the late ‘80s. The red soils that inspired the vineyard’s name are rich in iron and rock, producing intense dark fruit with long, silky tannins.
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