Beckstoffer Bourn Vineyard sits on the west side of St. Helena, a 12-acre parcel that is part of a larger vineyard site dating back to the mid-19th century. The vineyard was originally planted in 1872 by William Bowers Bourn II, considered one of the last “bonanza kings” of California due to his ownership of wildly successful gold mines in California and Nevada. When Andy and David Beckstoffer purchased the parcel in 2010, it consisted of four acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and eight acres of head-trained, old-growth Petite Sirah.
Benoit started working with grapes from Bourn in 2011, when David Beckstoffer asked him to make wine for his new boutique brand, Kata. In 2018, when David was struggling to balance the demands of Kata with his responsibilities as president of Beckstoffer Vineyards, Scott, Benoit and David worked out an arrangement for Realm to take the fruit and develop a Realm Single Vineyard Cabernet from Beckstoffer Bourn.
Bourn’s well-drained, gravelly loam soils – known as Cortina – are ideally suited to growing high quality Cabernet Sauvignon. The vineyard is very homogenous, and the vines reflect the soils, steady and uniform. Bourn is undergoing a gradual replant, and eventually will consist primarily of Cabernet Sauvignon (Clones 8 and 337) along with a few rows of the 60-year old head-trained Petite Sirah. These grapes, when blended with the Cabernet, bring beautiful floral aromas, elegance and a softness that balances the structure of the wine.
