What first attracted Tor to this small 3-acre hillside vineyard was the neighborhood, the vineyards that surrounded it on the Vaca Mountain ridges: Screaming Eagle, Dalle Valle, Phelps Backus, Peter Michael’s Les Pavots, etc. Then he walked the vineyard with the owner, Bill Harter, and realized why the very steep vineyard would produce exceptional wine. The soils were red mineral-based like its famous neighbors, and its terroir would not produce a large crop, but a very high-quality one. TOR started to work with the Harter family in 2021 and, in 2023, made its first vineyard-designated wine from this exceptional site. READ MORE
Winemaking & Vinification: The 2024 vintage was crafted primarily from free-run juice, blended with only the roundest, sweetest initial press cuts to build subtle volume (differing from the 2023 vintage, which was composed entirely of free-run juice).
Barrel Aging & Bottling: True to our barrel program for this site, the wine was aged for 20 months exclusively in Tonnellerie Taransaud French oak, incorporating a selected combination of 113M+, 112H, and 112GC toasts/cooperages. Reflecting the warmth of the 2024 vintage, it displays a supple, rounded expression on the palate. As with all our wines, it was bottled unfined and unfiltered.
“Anchored in the iconic Harter Vineyard along the eastern Oakville hillside, the 2024 Vaca Ridge directly reflects the famous iron-rich red rock soils of the benchland. True to its origin, this vintage opens with a highly perfumed bouquet of fresh rose petal, sweet cinnamon, lifted spearmint, and vibrant red cherry reduction.
On the palate, the wine is supple and inviting, framed by ultra-silky tannins and beautifully integrated acidity. Rich layers of warm baking spice, dark plum, cocoa powder, and crushed earth unfold effortlessly across the finish. Expressing the quintessential charm of eastern Oakville, this bottling pairs haunting aromatics with immediate approachability—offering a seductive contrast to the more muscular, structured Cabernets of Oakville’s western floor.” –Jeff Ames
2024 shoots pushed in early spring with vigor due to excellent groundwater and warm conditions, forming healthy canopies. Before veraison, in June and into July, Napa experienced two short heat spikes which accelerated ripening. It was an early start for the vineyards, and an early harvest for the winemakers, a bit fast and furious toward the end, but overall one we all fondly look back on as special. The wines have great color, extract, layers of flavor, excellent #s (PH/TA/dry extract/etc..). 2024 is reminiscent of some of the great vintages of the past, like 1987 and 1991, that have aged extremely well.
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