Davies Vineyards was originally founded at the historical Schramsberg Winery in the Diamond Mountain appellation just south of Calistoga. Davies is named after Jack Davies, who along with his wife Jamie, founded and restored the modern day Schramsberg – one of the earliest wineries in Napa Valley, originally founded in 1862 (still in the midst of the turbulent Civil War years). As a result, the earliest hillside vineyards on the property date from 1862, making this one of the first hillside vineyard locations in all of Napa County. The focus of production at Davies Vineyards is on Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.
For many years Schramsberg has been noted for their internationally famous sparkling wines. When Jack and Jamie Davies moved to the Napa Valley from Southern California, they decided to plant Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for making sparkling wines (a style of wine they enjoyed drinking). Their hillside estate had been planted to these varietals for many years – however this location is not necessarily the best area for growing these cooler weather grapes. Their Diamond Mountain property is better suited to growing red Bordeaux varietals. As a result, the grapes for Schramsberg’s sparkling wines are sourced from cool weather generally coastal California locations as are the Pinot Noir wines under the Davies label.
In 1994 they began to plant red Bordeaux varieties on the estate. Most wineries after planting vineyards will take full advantage to harvest their first grapes within 3 or 4 years after planting. Not so with Davies Vineyards. They waited 7 years before releasing their first commercial vintage in 2001. They were producing wine during this time, just not commercially as it was merely for their own experimentation and knowledge. During these years, they kept improving their vineyard blocks including vine layout and best suited rootstock, clones and varietals.
Their wine making team was especially interested in finding ways to manage heavy tannins and tight structure sometimes characteristic of mountain grown fruit. Today approximately 41 acres are planted to vines on the estate. Its yields are fairly low by Napa standards – at about 2 tons per acre. Schramsberg’s property is 218 acres of which two historical vineyards are located on site, the original Schram Vineyard and the McEachran Vineyard first planted in 1878.
Initially Davies Vineyards produced a single wine (a Bordeaux styled blend), today they produce several wines including a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, an estate Cabernet Sauvignon and several Pinot Noirs. For differentiation purposes, their Pinot Noirs and Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon are bottled under the Davies label while their estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon is bottled under the J Davies label. They source grapes from select vineyards throughout Napa (mostly the southern part of the valley), parts of Sonoma County, Marin County and Anderson Valley in Mendocino County.
Jack and Jamie’s son Hugh is the President of Schramsberg and also oversees the wine making for Davies Vineyards. Davies Vineyards has certainly grown in production and number of wines produced since their first vintage. In 2012 they found a winery home in the south part of St. Helena – right next to busy Highway 29 in a rather simple and unobtrusive building. All the Davies Vineyard wines are produced here.
In May 2017, Davies Vineyards opened their first ever stand-alone tasting room on the same property as their winery (a 1.5+ acre piece of land). Landmarks include the nearby St. Helena High School and the next door, highly unusual culinary offering for the Napa Valley, an A&W restaurant. A decent sized parking lot is located within the cozy confines of the winery + tasting room property. This site including their nearby winery used to be the Epps Chevrolet dealership which went out of business in 2011.
A demonstration vineyard was planted in 2017 to various Bordeaux varieties and this mini vineyard is used to educate visitors about a variety of practices relating to vines including trellising, pruning and picking. Its addition it will allow visitors to see closeup the changes that occur in vines over a full year including bud break, flowering, veraison and visitors can taste ripe grapes before harvest.
The tasting room is two stories built of stone quarried from within some of the mountains in the Napa Valley. It is built to look somewhat old – and almost has a feel of a ghost winery (stone wineries typically built before prohibition). A commercial kitchen is on site – with a nifty dumbwaiter to deftly bring food or wine from the kitchen to their second floor. A caviar brunch is offered by reservation, hosted Friday through Sunday. Other special tastings include library tastings of either Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon.
Several private tasting rooms include one downstairs they refer to as their Pinot Noir room and the one upstairs referred to as their Cabernet Sauvignon room. In addition, weather permitting, a smart looking outdoor patio with a number of tables is available for outdoor tastings. And the cool looking chandeliers were designed by Hugh and his wife Monique – they are made from metal wine-barrel straps.
Visitors are greeted by a host at the entrance awaiting with a glass of Schramsberg sparkling wine and then given an overview of the history of Schramsberg as well as details about some of the vineyards and locations their grapes are sourced from. Tastings are seated.
Select Wines
Pinot Noir
The 2022 Davies Three Amigos Vineyard Pinot Noir, Napa Valley Carneros is pale ruby in color; the elegant bouquet is a delicate and nuanced union of both red fruits and assorted spices. These scents include raspberry, currant, cherry cola, plum, red licorice, blood orange, library book, pen ink, dried rose petals, pink peppercorn, dried sage and dried mushrooms. As the wine evolves and opens, it offers a layer of mocha and cocoa powder. On the palate there are flavors of raspberry, strawberry, cherry cola and lingers with a subtle notes of white pepper and a hint of dried tobacco leaf. The mouth is plush and plum featuring well polished and integrated tannins; their texture feels creamy and are as soft as running one’s fingers across the fur of a young miniature schnauzer. Medium acidity. For some reason while tasting this wine, we thought of pairing it with bone-in smoked ham. This wine is a blend of three clones including St. Claire, 777, 667. It was aged for 15 months in 40% new and 30% used once French oak barrels.
The 2022 Davies Vineyards, Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast is 100% varietal from a diversity of vineyards in Sonoma County including Dutton Ranch, Keefer and Perry Ranch, all located in the Russian River Valley and Nobles Vineyard from the far western reaches of the county in Fort Ross-Seaview. This wine is pale ruby in color; this wine smells like Pinot Noir from the first whiff, with its aromatic focus on its fruit rather than spices. It offers a brambly character including of raspberry along with red licorice, white pepper, dried mushrooms, a hint of dried thyme and bay leaf. On the palate there are flavors of strawberry, raspberry, cherry cola and a hint of root beer. It texture features finely polished and melded tannins aligning into the finish as seamless as a perfectly fitting puzzle piece. Lingers juicy and mouth watering.
The 2022 Davies Vineyards, Pinot Noir Ferrington Vineyards, Anderson Valley Mendocino County (located in Boonville). This vineyard has supplied grapes to a number of rock star wineries over the years including Arista and Williams Selyem. This wine is pale to medium ruby in color; the attractive and elegant bouquet offers scents of lavender, sage, rhubarb, pomegranate and cranberry. Brightly lit across the palate, its red fruited profile offers flavors of cranberry, currant, cherry, pomegranate and plum. And there are layers of some baking spices including cardamom. The mouthfeel is creamy with a very rounded textural profile accompanied by its long lasting red fruited flavors. Easy drinking and highly enjoyable in its youth. This bottling is clearly a crowd favorite in terms of flavor, acidity and texture.
The 2018 Perry Ranch Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley is pale ruby in color; 6 years post vintage, the aromatics are showing some bottle bouquet. It offers sweetly fruited scents of raspberry, dried cranberries and red plum, accompanied by notes of suede, candied orange peel, blood orange, dried apricots, red licorice and as it evolves, a note of mocha and cinnamon stick. This wine offers plenty of aromatic layers including both primary, secondary and tertiary characters. The palate offers flavors of raspberry, strawberry, cranberry, baked plums, cherry cola, white pepper and dried herbs including thyme. It offers plenty of fruit still at this age . The supple, fine grained and creamy textured tannins linger with a subtle drying character, with both fruit and texture pacing each other on the lengthy finish.
The 2014 Davies Vineyards Pinot Noir is from two prominent growers in the Napa side of Carneros – Lee Hudson and Larry Hyde (the Hudson and Hyde Vineyards). This wine is highly aromatic in the glass with a sweetness of fruit aromas that dominate over the more subtle spice components (hint of white pepper and vanilla). Very supple entry through to the mid palate – velvet like in its texture with flavors of raspberry and slightly spicy integrated earthy tannins anchoring the finish.
Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2021 Davies Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is a blend of all their single vineyards plus Malbec, Petit Verdot and Merlot – this wine is meant to be consumed early as compared to their single vineyard designate wines. This wine is deep ruby and opaque in color; the initial aromatic hit is of dust, a chalky aromatic along with dried tobacco leaf, dried cedar and a floral note including of violets. Its fruit showcases plum, blackberry, boysenberry and Persian mulberry. And as it opens it reveals more barrel influences including mocha and dark cocoa powder. Bright, juicy and mouth watering the palate is built on its fruit and its freshness. It offers ripe fruits but also a brightness with flavors of boysenberry, blackberry, cherry and red plum. The lightly grainy tannins pace the fruit without either pulling ahead on the finish. Lingers mouth watering with a light drying character including dried tobacco leaf and sage. Savory.
The 2021 Davies Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon McGrath Vineyard, St. Helena Napa Valley is 100% varietal. This is a prime vineyard neighborhood including Beckstoffer owned Las Piedras and the historic Haynes Vineyard. Incidentally, McGrath is the closest vineyard to the tasting room. This wine is deep ruby and opaque; the bouquet delivers aromas that are simultaneously elegant yet also ripe. These include dark cherry, blackberry jam, boysenberry, a sweet tobacco spice, cinnamon stick and cardamom. The palate delivers plenty of hedonism with dark fruited and ripe flavors of blackberry, boysenberry, dark cherry and Persian mulberry. And accompanying notes of milk chocolate, dark cocoa powder and mocha. The gravelly and grainy and firmly gripping tannins anchor a ripe, savory and dried herb filled finish. This bottle straddles the robust characteristics of the vintage while simultaneously being approachable in its youth.
The 2021 Davies Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon Oliven Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal. This wine is deep ruby in color; the bouquet offers scents of red plum, cherry, blueberry and dark raspberry. Deeper in the aromatics is a note of tobacco spice and green pepper, leaning more towards shishito rather than jalapeno. It is not green but just enough herbal to help identify this as Cabernet Sauvignon. This is an aromatic we don’t always find in contemporary ripe and over ripe Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, but is always a welcome addition. The palate is bright and red fruited with flavors of cherry, currant, red plum and tobacco. The focus here is on the fruit with the oak complementing. The tannins are remarkably resolved for only three years post harvest and for this vintage in particular. Their lightly grainy and dusty character is felt primarily on the front of the palate rather than the back. Lingers mouth watering and fresh. Balanced.
The 2013 J. Davies Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain District tantalizes with its layered aromatics featuring mostly darker fruits (blackberry and black cherry). It shows a depth of flavor, and like the aromatics, the palate showcases mostly darker fruits. A bit of baking spice nuances. Slightly chewy and noticeable tannins linger for some time. However, the structure is in balance with the rest of the wine – for mountain fruit this is not a wine demonstrating the power of terroir or extended maceration or other wine making techniques to extract tannins, rather it showcases depth of flavor with a finessed structure.
The 2005 J Davies Cabernet Sauvignon; this is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec & Petit Verdot. It is a very dark inky wine that is unfined and only lightly filtered for maximum color and flavor. This is a medium bodied wine, with a smooth mouth feel, rich in blackberry and cloves flavors with just a touch of toasted oak noticed on the finish. The tannins are soft and do not overpower.
And as of our latest update to this review, in it’s history, Davies Vineyards has produced only two non Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon wines, both 100% varietal Malbec – once in 2013 and once again in 2016.
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Both Davies Vineyards and Schramsberg sparkling wines can be purchased or tasted on site. For more information, to purchase wine, to join the Davies Wine Club or to schedule a tasting, visit: www.daviesvineyards.com
Tasting Salon
Winery
Pre-Renovation winery
I was holding a freinds 2008 cab and drank how can I get more in Tampa thanks Michael
I would like to be added to your mailing list. Thank You, Howard Brand