Mill Creek Vineyard
The first releases of Delgadillo Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon were sourced from Mill Creek Vineyard, situated on the west side of the Napa River, midway between St. Helena and Calistoga. On the gently-sloping 2 ½-acre site, Cabernet Sauvignon vines were planted between 1971 and 1976.
The owners consulted the renowned UC Davis viticulture department when planting the site in the early 70s. They recommended a sparse 8’ x 12’ vine spacing (just 454 vines per acre).
The Cabernet Sauvignon was budded predominantly from Nathan Fay’s Stag’s Leap-area vineyard. Some later plants were bench grafts of unknown clones on AXR-1 rootstock. The entire site is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon.
The vineyard is meticulously hand tended. The vines are spur pruned and ladder trained to pressure treated wooden stakes. There is no trellis system. After the first 2 years of drip irrigation, the site has been completely dry-farmed. Fruit production varies with the vintage, ranging from 2.5 to about 4.5 tons, yearly.
We farm the vineyard ourselves, allowing us to tend to the grapes from bud break to bottling. Delgadillo Cellars sourced its first vintage from the site in 2001.