The gorgeous Black Sears property lies at the northern-most boundary of the Howell Mountain sub-appellation of Napa. The site's elevation is 2400 feet, making this one of the highest vineyards in Napa County.
The first plantings, in 1975, were devoted exclusively to Zinfandel. The estate was bought in 1980 by Joyce Black Sears and Jerre Sears who planted 5 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon in 1985.
For many years, the Black Sears family has sold its production to some of the best wineries in California, including Elyse, Cornerstone, Turley, Howell Mountain Vineyards and D Cubed. In 1997 Joyce and Jerre approached Ted Lemon of Littorai Wines regarding the possibility of producing a small quantity of estate bottled Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel from the property. Due to their longstanding friendship and business ties, a deal was quickly struck. Ted Lemon has acted as their winemaker and overseen vineyard management since that time.
Since then, the goal of the Black Sears family is to produce estate bottled Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon which are an uncompromising expression of the terroir of Howell Mountain and this extraordinary estate. Ted, in fact, feels that the style of these these wines are somewhat atypical for California, and not for everyone, but for people who prefer the more discreet power and restraint that true "mountain wines" display, The Zin shows the briary peppery side of this varietal, while the Cab is a solid, cassis-scented red that is not shy about it's mountain roots.
The family has no intention of growing the estate production beyond tiny quantities of the finest fruit they can produce, a few hundred cases per vintage.
