1800
The earliest stewards of what is now the upper Napa Valley were the Wappo, native gardeners and land conservationists who tended these lands until the early 1800s. The Wappo maintained a delicate balance among wildlife, water, vegetation and human impact during their occupation.1841
In 1841, the Russian Baron, Alexander Rotchef, landed in Mendocino’s Fort Ross and traveled to St Helena. He was accompanied by his wife, the beautiful Princess Helena, whose godfather was Czar Nicholas. According to local folklore, the property dates back to the mid 1800’s when it became the home of the Russian princess, Helena, who started a flower nursery, along with some grape vines on the property.1880
Robert Louis Stevenson and his new bride, Fanny Vandergrift Osbourne spent the summer of 1880 honeymooning in an abandoned mining camp on Mount St. Helena. Stevenson’s book The Silverado Squatters includes much of his experiences while living there.1980
From the 1880s to the late 1980s these lands remained under continuous vegetation and grape cultivation, surviving many successive owners.1996
In 1996, the Sill family acquired a portion of the Princess’ property, specifically the Blackrock Terrace block along the Silverado Trail.2003
Since 2003, our friend and vineyard manager, Mike Nunez, has done an exceptional job in delicately handling the growth of our grapes so as to produce fruit of unique quality.2016
In September of 2016 we completed the purchase of the 24.5 acre Ardente Estate Winery, an Atlas Peak AVA, Napa winery and vineyards whose high-ranking Cabernet Sauvignon have achieved notable accolades and top awards among California’s finest premier Cabernet Sauvignon wines. We are thrilled to have secured this truly magical vineyard.2016
In November 2016 we secured our official Federal TTB Winery license (Winegrower 2) allowing us to grow estate grapes, ferment them into alcoholic wines and sell them to our customers while collecting taxes of course!2017
Mother Nature brought us the devastation of the Atlas Peak October 2017 fires, completely destroying our Winery and numerous buildings and structures, thus, we are now faced with the rebuilding and permitting challenges of County of Napa. We are not permitted to be open to the public at this time. The majority of our 2017 vintage was harvested hours before the fires arrival.2018
Our 2015 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon received the coveted CWSA 2018 Wine of the Year award, as well as the Double Gold Medal. An amazing silver lining to 2017's disaster.2019
The French Laundry is an epic culinary experience to what Anthony Bourdain has called “the best restaurant in the world, period” and represents the pinnacle of the fine California dining experience, topping every foodie’s bucket list. In 2014 The French Laundry’s wine list was awarded The World of Fine Wine’s highest rating and in 2019 The French Laundry added Sill Family Vineyards’ 2015 Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon to its wine menu.2022
We completed planting and nurturing 6 new vineyard blocks consisting of 110R rootstock, clone 7 certified Cabernet Sauvignon vines. A four year farming effort which will bear exceptional fruit in 2023.The Winemaker
Winemaker, Igor, became passionate about Bordeaux wines after being introduced to Château Margaux, Château Latour and Château Lafite Rothschild in the late 1970s by H. Lyman Emerson, a renaissance gentleman and noted fine wine collector. In 1997 through 2010 Igor worked with Francois Pinault’s Group Artemis, owner of Château Latour. Château Latour is a French wine estate, rated as a First Growth under the 1855 Bordeaux Classification and lies in the commune of Pauillac in the Médoc region of Bordeaux.
Igor went on to become a Court of Master Sommelier, judging wine competitions including the annual International Wine Challenge, earned his Masters at Oxford University’s Merton College and learned his winemaking craft via UC Davis’ viticulture program. He worked at Italian wine producer, V. Sattui Winery and Opus One Winery in Napa. Igor acquired the St. Helena appellation property some twenty nine years prior and fell in love with Napa’s numerous microclimates and unique terroirs. Thereafter, he started a thorough search for an extraordinary volcanic mountain vineyard. That search lead to the purchase of the twenty four acre Atlas Peak Mountain Winery property (formerly Ardente Estate Winery) in 2016, turning his passion for collecting fine Bordeaux and Burgundian wines into a love for producing it with an artisian Old-World approach.
Igor chose Napa’s high elevation Atlas Peak volcanic appellation on the Vaca mountain ridge given its longer sun exposure and cooler nights because it presents an obscure, distinctive area for truly great wines, those with profound boldness, elegance, density and character. There are numerous soil characteristics which provide this specific site with the mysteries that unfold in this volcanic mountain plateau’s exceptional terroir. This vineyard represents a unique piece of Napa winemaking history as it was one of the most difficult to plant, hard to farm and its quality is truly exceptional. Of course, the small size of the vineyard limits production, but then, it also produces some of the greatest cabernet fruit Napa has to offer each and every year. This secluded piece of land is turning the heads of wine critics and collectors worldwide.
There is an undeniable interest in wines born of volcanic origin, interest which seems to have evolved into a significant upward trend in the wine world. Any restaurant with pretensions of discovering beautiful, ultra premium wines will have an Atlas Peak red wine listed these days. Igor spends considerable time walking this volcanic vineyard, developing an appreciation for every row of vines in his Atlas Peak mountain vineyard. The rootstocks receive excellent drainage as a result of the igneous volcanic rock’s structure, moisture retention and aeration characteristics when combined with ideal exposure to sunlight. These wines possess all the elements of greatness, an individuality combined with elegance, extraordinary complexity, remarkable aging potential, remaining faithful to the vineyard’s pedigree. It’s this understanding and an integrated natural and precision farming approach to growing grapes that allows him to produce wines that reflect the essence, soul and spirit of this volcanic mountain range, because exceptional wines are truly created from exceptional grapes.
Like any other great work, his arose out of the passion for uncompromised quality in creating exceptional wines. As a result, his wines are receiving world-wide rave reviews for their powerful expressiveness, density, character, elegance and silk-long finish. “We’ve uncovered an amazingly serene and peaceful lifestyle along with the challenges that volcanic viticulture and Napa Valley offers.” Fine wine, sunshine, great food and romance are enticements that seduces everyone who visits here.
$59.00
très Chardonnay Brut Sparkling
Our très Chardonnay Brut Sparkling opens with expressive aromas and exotic blends of elegance and finesse. Striving for finesse rather than overflowing power, our très Méthode Champenoise sparkling exudes a silky, dry, delicate texture and finishes with a longing desire for a second glass. À votre santé!
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2015 and 2016 très Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
Crafted utilizing classic, Premier Grand Cru Bordeaux-style techniques from grapes grown and harvested from the legendary superior Rutherford bench, Napa vineyards.
$195
2017 très Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
Crafted utilizing classic, Premier Grand Cru Bordeaux-style techniques from grapes grown and harvested from the legendary Rutherford bench, Napa vineyards.
SOLD OUT
2015 très Cabernet Sauvignon, Atlas Peak
Crafted utilizing classic, Premier Grand Cru Bordeaux-style techniques from grapes grown and harvested from our high elevation Atlas Peak Mountain vineyards.
$65
2018 très Rosé de Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast
Blends the very best of both wine worlds with the elegance, purity of fruit, harmony of an exceptional Burgundian Chardonnay along with the richness, complexity and depth of a Bordeaux-style Cabernet Sauvignon.
$65
2017 très Rosé de Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast
Blends the very best of both wine worlds with the elegance, purity of fruit, harmony of an exceptional Burgundian Chardonnay along with the richness, complexity and depth of a Bordeaux-style Cabernet Sauvignon.
$65
2017 très Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast
The style of our 2017 très Chardonnay blends elegance, purity of fruit, harmony and finesse. We’re a small, boutique Napa vintner producing a limited number of barrels of exceptional Sonoma Coast grown Chardonnay.
$85
2017 très Merlot, Atlas Peak
Shows lovely cherry-like aromas with hints of sibling Cabernet’s herbaceousness, and cream-tinged softer tannins over those found in Cabernet Sauvignon.