Newsletter #3 - Spring 2024

Dear Trois Noix Community,

This is Mike Tracy, Director of Winemaking for Trois Noix. With all the activity happening on the ground, I wanted to give you a first-hand account of what we’ve been up to in the vineyards and winery.

This year’s growing season kicked off on March 15th with budbreak, and with the generous rainfall the Napa Valley received this winter, the soils are saturated and the vineyard wells are full. A wet winter bodes well for strong vigor in the canopies and reduces dependence on irrigation.

Our Growers

One of the most important cornerstones of Trois Noix is the collective of grower-partners we work with. We choose to partner with growers who are actively involved in the day-to-day management of their vineyards. Our long-term grower families include the Ehrlich family for Sauvignon Blanc, Muir-Hanna for Chardonnay and red varietals, and Jaime’s family for Cabernet Sauvignon.

Fun Facts About The Muir-Hanna Family

The current owners of the Muir-Hanna vineyard — Claudia and Bill Hanna — are direct descendants of John Muir, the famous conservationist known as the “Father of National Parks” and live on the property. Claudia and Bill’s son, Michael Hanna, oversees vineyard operations alongside Vineyard Manager Steve Kline.

In February we held our annual grower tasting with the Muir-Hanna family to taste the entirety of the wines we’ve made from their vineyard, and reflect on the wines made from the previous vintage – which for 2023, are looking exceptional.

The Muir-Hanna Vineyard

We have been working with this vineyard since 2019, sourcing their spectacular fruit for our Trois Noix Chardonnay. The vineyard is situated in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley, a southerly growing area that is slightly cooler due to its proximity to the San Pablo Bay. The soils are well-drained and composed of silt, clay, and sand, well-suited to growing Chardonnay.

Initially, we only sourced fruit from the OCA block, which is 14 years old and produces exquisitely fresh and concentrated Chardonnay. But in 2020 we had the chance to source from an additional block called H4, a gorgeous plot of vines that is 37 years old and comprised of Old Vine Wente clone (see picture above).

The Wente clone is known for its small berries that over-deliver in concentration and flavor (which we love) and it was grafted from the same budwood responsible for Chateau Montelena’s win of the 1976 ‘Judgment of Paris’ tasting. We blend these two blocks together to make up our Trois Noix Chardonnay.

In addition to Chardonnay, we now source Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon from the Muir-Hanna vineyard, all of which are single-varietal bottlings.

Starting now, Jaime and I will meet with Michael and Steve monthly to walk the rows of each block and strategize farming plans. We also have an exciting cover crop trial in the works, and we should start seeing results this harvest. Watch this space for more news!

And Finally – The Wines!

Finally, we have just bottled our three Spring releases – 2023 Rosé of Pinot Noir, 2023 Ehrlich Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, and 2023 Ryan’s Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, and I am thrilled with the results. The wines from the 2023 vintage are remarkably perfumed and well-balanced in their youth.

Look out for the first release of these wines coming in on May 1st, 2024. (Club members – you just received them!)

Thank you for your continued support of Trois Noix wines and we look forward to bringing you more news on the growers, people and wines that make Trois Noix so special.

Thanks for reading, and Happy Spring!

Best,