Levensohn is a tiny property at the western edge of St. Helena in that special band of gravelly soil where some of Napa’s finest vineyards lie. Beckstoffer’s Dr. Crane and Las Piedras are a stone’s throw away, and Bressler is just next door. Owners Pascal and Melanie Levensohn purchased the five-acre property in 2000 with the dream of making extraordinary wines. Of course, things rarely go as planned in this business, and Pascal and Melanie got a taste of that early on.

Shortly after purchasing the property, the couple’s friend, Master of Wine Jean Michel Valette, informed them that the 3.5-acre vineyard was planted on AXR rootstock — highly susceptible to phylloxera — and would need to be replanted. Reluctantly, they hired Silverado Partners to tear up what was brand new to them. Four years later, winemaker Philippe Melka produced the first Levensohn vintage. He was followed by Keith Emerson (Vineyard 29) in 2005, who has been at the helm ever since.

The Levensohns make only a tiny amount of wine. From 2004 to 2011 annual production was just a single barrel (25 cases). In 2012 they ramped things up to 46 cases, then to 95 cases in 2013, leveling off at 150 in 2014. All wines are made in the state-of-the-art facilities at Vineyard 29, an added perk of participating in 29’s Cru program (29 purchases high quality fruit from Levensohn and in return makes a small amount of wine for them on site).

In the vineyard, farming is organic but not certified. Winemaking is very straight-forward — optical sorting and selection takes place, and grapes go gently into stainless tanks for fermentation, with both clones (337 and 4) co-fermented. The small, concentrated berries tend to produce powerful, dense, and concentrated wines. As a result, Keith says he likes “to keep the fermentations cool, trying not to over extract.” The juice sees about 30 days on skins, with temperatures maxing out at 84°F, but mostly in the high 70s. Wines are basket-pressed and then gravity-filled into Taransaud barrels — typically about 75% new oak but some years up to 100% — for about 18-20 months. Initially, the wine was 100% Cabernet, but in 2012 they began to add about 3% Merlot, which comes from Vineyard 29’s spectacular Aida Vineyard. According to Keith, “It’s pretty big Merlot — not there to lighten up the wine. It just adds some complexity, depth, and layers.”

Levensohn is definitely a bright spot on the Napa landscape — a small, family-owned domaine making beautiful wines that capture the essence of their terroir on the western edge of St. Helena. In this case, it’s all made possible by the partnership with Chuck McMinn at Vineyard 29, and of course, the passion and determination of Pascal and Melanie Levensohn.