OUR TWENTY EIGHT BLOCKS

The estate encompasses twenty-eight individual and unique vineyard blocks, most situated precariously on hand-built rock retaining walls on steep slopes straddling wildlife corridors and steep hillsides with an average incline of 25% (some as steep as 40%), that are intermixed with blue line, riparian, and ephemeral streams. The vineyard is almost entirely hand-farmed and meticulously cared for. The twenty-eight distinct mountainside vineyard blocks encompass differing elevations, inclines, soil compositions, microclimates, solar aspects, grape clones, root stocks and planting densities, providing a palette of single vineyard fruit of remarkable micro-terroir-driven distinction and complexity. This allows us to individuate the vineyards across the twenty-eight blocks, eliminating any possibility of a vineyard monotony. We thus produce single vineyard designated wines of character, rarity and distinctiveness (the TWENTY EIGHT BLOCKS wines are single estate vineyard designated wines). And we also blend a tapestry of these micro-terroir driven blocks to produce wines of depth, complexity and opulence (these are the QUANTUM LIMIT designated wines).

Temperature mapping shows that the area has a near ideal climate for Cabernet Sauvignon. Most of the blocks are planted west-southwest facing, overlooking Howell Mountain Range Twin Sister’s peaks. Vineyard elevations reach altitudes of 900 feet. The area has a higher average heat summation than Coombsville, Rutherford, Oakville, Howell Mountain, or St. Helena, and importantly, lower peak temperatures during heat spikes, along with lower frost risk in the spring. In cooler years it is one of the areas of the Napa Valley AVA that consistently ripens the fruit to the highly sought after signature style of deep, complex and intense Napa Cabernet. The vineyards all have shade cloth whose careful management of morning and afternoon sunlight in the later part of the season allows us to carefully harvest the grapes at their perfect physical ripeness, eliminating sun or heat damage. To further mitigate any heat damage, the vineyards have water misters to reduce heat stress if a spike were to occur.

The soil is a rich, fertile, volcanic loam that is typical of the Howell Mountain Cordillera as well as areas such as Pritchard Hill and Mount Veeder. Specifically, the hillside soil is composed of dark red volcanic Brissa loam over weathered fine-grained sandstone and shale, admixed with crushed rock, pebbles and sandstone, providing excellent surface drainage and near perfect soil conditions for hillside Cabernet. In fact, there is more rock within Quantum Limit vineyards than even Pritchard Hill or Atlas Peak! The vineyard is a strong proponent of regenerative farming. For instance, every year we hand till in compost to each and every vine in order to improve soil health, nutrients, and microbiota. Since most of the vineyards are on steep inclines, the cover crop is adjusted each year to inhibit erosion, but is also adjusted for improving the diversity of soil microorganisms and plants that naturally impart nitrogen and phosphorous and other nutrients and attract beneficial insects. We use crops such as sowing yarrow, Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, Brando brome, zorro annual fescue, Berber orchard grass and covar sheep fescue.

Quantum Limit intermixes both artisanal and technological farming methods. We embrace classical hand farming of a majority of the vineyard (in part due to its steepness), compulsive micro-vineyard management, nighttime hand harvesting, and careful sorting of grapes worthy of the cause they serve. Quantum also uses state-of-the-art technological monitoring and management, including petiole testing and drone mapping for a variety of endpoints. We are relentless with soil analysis, including pH and nutrient analysis and constantly make adjustments throughout the season. We farm with low irrigation rates, and have secondary drip irrigation lines throughout the vineyard to custom adjust specific rows that may require additional water and/or nutrients. We install shade cloth on both sides of the trellis to provide customized protection from both morning and afternoon sun. To prevent heat damage, we use vineyard misters. After veraison, we protect the grapes with bird netting. Our vertical shoot position trellises are constantly being managed where we balance the canopy and drop fruit to reduce yields to enhance flavor. The owners’ vineyard management philosophy is quality at all costs.

Thus, the estate has a uniquely balanced and optimized Napa terroir with a new and individual aesthetic. The geology is volcanic and porous like other prestigious mountain appellations of Napa imparting minerality and complexity to the wine and results in a wine that is distinct from the valley floor. The tasting profile has the dense minerality backbone of the rocky and volcanic rust red and iron-rich soil elements of the notable wines found in the specific Howell Mountain AVA. However, because Quantum Limit resides further south in the Howell Cordillera and closer to the San Francisco Bay, and at a lower elevation than the Howell Mountain AVA (300 to 900 ft vs. 1200 to 2600 ft), Quantum receives more sun, allowing for even more luxurious and powerful deep fruit expression and opulence, with an elevated ink richness of blackberries, licorice, plum, and creme decassis. The cooling evening breezes from the nearby San Francisco Bay allow for the maintenance of structural acidity for long term aging. Together the results are a unique balance of volcanic minerality with the sumptuous rich fruit intensity of an ideally ripened Napa Cabernet with specific nuances within the twenty eight micro-terroir vineyard managed combinations of soils, vines and climate.

Quantum Limit heralds the arrival of a new dimension to Napa Cabernet, an evocation of an exceptional Napa space, and a process that systematically derivatizes the terroir in defining a unique aesthetic for Napa mountain fruit. Our quest is to produce our Napa Valley Grand Cru that is deeply sophisticated, strikingly complex, beautifully finessed, with substantial structure and elegance, capable of decades of aging and enjoyment.