Napa Valley wines from Melanson Vineyard on Pritchard Hill

A narrow two-lane road is all that connects the heart of the Napa Valley to this wondrous region of Pritchard Hill.

In just a few decades of serious wine production, Pritchard Hill has gained a reputation among lovers of fine wine. Our neighbors here include such eminent wineries as Colgin Cellars, Bryant Family, Long Vineyard, Cloud View and Chappellet.

The Melanson Vineyard is set on a rugged, boulder-strewn hillside with distinct southern and western exposures. Guided by the vision of Greg Melanson and John Arns, we have embraced Pritchard Hill’s natural terroir. Rather than investing in major rock-crushing operations, excavations and soil replacement, we have committed ourselves to working with what nature itself gave to this area: rich natural soils, loaded with igneous and seabed rock.

This soil and sun, the higher altitudes and rugged hills… These are the unique foundation for Melanson Vineyard wines.

CABERNET SAUVIGNON Our Cabernet vines were planted late in 1999 on 7^1/2 west-facing hillside acres. These acres are at excellent Cabernet elevations of 1100-1380 feet. Vineyard manager John Arns, with the advisement of Zelma and Bob Long, carefully selected these clones and rootstocks to replace the original old-vine Chardonnay originally planted here. At the same time, the vine rows were re-oriented to follow the angle of the sun, providing excellent west/southwest exposure. The vines are planted on 6’ rows, with 4’ between vines. All are Cordon pruned and vertical shoot trained. Roughly five acres of this vineyard is Clone 7 on 101-14 rootstock. The remaining 2^1/2acres is planted to Clone 337 on 1103 rootstock.
CHARDONNAY Our estate Chardonnay vines, planted in the late 1960s, are among the oldest and most established Chardonnay vines in the Napa Valley. Perhaps only 15 acres of old-vine Chardonnay like this exist in all of Napa County. Greg and John decided to keep 2 acres of the original Chardonnay. It was more a choice of the heart than one of pure economics. Along with the Cabernet and Syrah, these beautiful and limited-production old vines give Melanson Vineyard a nice mix of varietals on the property. The Chardonnay is classic Wente clone on St. George rootstock. The vines are planted on 12’ rows with 8’ between vines and are traditional “California sprawl” trellised and cane pruned.
SYRAH You might call our Syrah acreage a touch of exploratory inspiration. The estate Syrah was planted in late 1999 on three-quarter of an acre on a west-facing hillside at an elevation of 1,300 feet. To provide vineyard diversity, and grow wines more readily drinkable than the cellar-worthy Cabernets, John Arns chose to plant Syrah. With the re-emergence of Syrah as a popular varietal, John made a wise choice. This petite acre has excellent sun; The vines are planted on 6’ rows with 4’ between vines and are Cordon pruned and vertical shoot trained. The Syrah vineyard is planted on 110R rootstock.