White Rock

White Rock is one of the oldest vineyard sites in Napa, planted in 1870 in the southern foothills of the Stag's Leap range. The Vandendriessche family revived it a century later and have farmed it for forty years since, restoring the original stone cellar and carving caves into the hillside for winemaking.

The 35-acre estate sits on an unusual terroir of white volcanic ash, which is where the name comes from and a good part of why the wines taste the way they do. Fourteen acres of Chardonnay sit on the valley floor, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Syrah and Viognier alongside. The style is restrained and built to age. Michael rates the setting an 8, the highest ambiance score on this stretch of the southern Napa route.