About the Producer

Chimney Rock takes its name from the rock formations on the Palisades behind the winery which resemble chimney stacks. Established in 1980 by Hack and Stella Wilson, the first vintage of Chimney Rock Estate wine was produced in 1984. In the early 1990s, the Cape Dutch-style winery and tasting room were added to the estate, complete with the allegorical frieze of Ganymede - cupbearer to the gods. In 2000, the Terlato family joined the Wilson family and in 2002, the remaining land, covering 18 hectares, was planted entirely to Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2004, the Terlato family assumed sole ownership of the estate and ensures the highest standards in viticulture and winemaking. Chimney Rock now comprises 48 hectares of vineyard, divided into 28 distinct blocks, allowing for highly specialised viticulture suited to each specific site and is certified as a ‘Napa Green Vineyard & Winery’. Led by notable winemaker Elizabeth Vianna, Chimney Rock’s award-winning wines have firmly cemented its reputation for producing some of the world’s greatest estate Cabernet Sauvignon.

Vineyard and Winery

The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes come from the single vineyard of Tomahawk, which forms the coolest part of the Chimney Rock estate due to proximity to the San Pablo Bay. Cooling, fresh sea breezes ensure the intense fruit flavours are balanced by cooling nights, which impart natural freshness to the wines. The volcanic soils stress the cordon-trained vines to encourage deep root systems in search of nutrients. This distinctive combination of cool-climate location and volcanic soil produces intensely powerful, complex and opulent wines. The vines are meticulously cultivated. The estate holds the Napa Green Vineyard certification which provides a framework for growers to cultivate sustainably; through improving soil health, becoming carbon neutral, implementing efficient water-use strategies, incorporating integrated pest management techniques and soil cover crops. The grapes are hand-harvested at optimum maturity.

The Tomahawk vineyard grapes were fermented with selected yeasts in stainless steel tanks to retain the purity of fruit, with varying lengths of extended skin contact from 30 to 40 days to extract colour, flavour and fine tannins. Vinified without any additions, the wine was then matured for 18 months in French oak, 70% of which was new.