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Rattle Mountain
Santa Cruz Mountains · 1,350 ft · 13 mi to the Pacific
The vineyard is split by a fault line.
The data
- Appellation
- Santa Cruz Mountains
- Elevation
- 1,350 ft
- Acreage
- 5 acres
- Distance to ocean
- 13 mi
- Geology
- Purisima formation / Lambert shale
- Soils
- Weathered siltstone, marine sandstone, traces of limestone
- Varieties
- Pinot Noir
- Clones
- Dijon and Mount Eden
- Row orientation
- North to South
- Spacing
- 7 x 5
- Vine age
- 25 years
What this means in the wine
At 1,350 feet and 13 miles from the water, Rattle Mountain ripens on its own schedule. Purisima formation / Lambert shale underneath keeps the vines lean and the wines tight through the middle; the weathered siltstone, marine sandstone, traces of limestone holds just enough water to get through a dry September without stress.
Rows run north to south, planted 7 x 5. Vine age: 25 years. Older wood here gives smaller clusters and more concentrated, more savoury fruit than the young blocks, which is why we keep the lots separate in the cellar and usually bottle them that way too.