Madrona Ranch

The first property David Abreu fell for, a working ranch of cattle, goats and beehives on the alluvial fan below the Mayacamas, and the vineyard that made his name.

History

Abreu began developing the ranch in 1980, his first vineyard, pulling diseased vines and replanting ground whose Madrona Ranch name dates to at least the 1930s. A 1986 vintage was made and never released; the 1987 Madrona Ranch Cabernet was the first Abreu wine, and the bottling has anchored the range since. For decades he farmed the land under lease, buying it outright from the Meyer family in 2021. Madrona fruit has also traveled: Colgin's Cariad has drawn its Cabernet, Merlot and Cabernet Franc from the ranch in several vintages.

The Site

Twenty-three acres within walking distance of Spottswoode on the western edge of St. Helena, canyons and curves threading soils that run from red Aiken to white tufa to dark clay and rock, with an ephemeral creek off Spring Mountain crossing the property. Picks span weeks across the soil patchwork, and the ranch still runs cattle, pigs, chickens and bees among mature olive trees.

Vines and Blocks

Cabernet Sauvignon and an unusually deep planting of Cabernet Franc with Merlot and Petit Verdot.

The Wines

The Madrona Ranch bottling, under 500 cases, typically runs half Cabernet Sauvignon and up to forty percent Cabernet Franc: the savory, floral, tannic archetype of the Abreu style.