“When drinking water, remember the source.” It is an old Chinese proverb that could apply to wine as easily as water. Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard sits in a small, residential neighborhood on the west side of St. Helena, in what was the town’s “Chinatown” in the 1920s, an unassuming site bordered by an old riverbed and a rock quarry. The vineyard was originally planted in 1858 by San Franciscan Dr. George Belden Crane; today it is owned by Andy Beckstoffer, who replanted it to multiple clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc in 1998. Its soils, primarily Bale loam and river wash, are extremely rocky and well-drained, and its warm, valley-floor microclimate lends itself to the Bordeaux varieties grown here.
With interesting parallels to Château Haut-Brion, Beckstoffer Dr. Crane is one of the finest vineyards in Napa Valley, and its wines are singular.
