There is a wildness in the wines from the eastern slopes above St. Helena, a ferocity as palpable as a coyote’s midnight howl.
Combining fruit from Thorevilos and Las Posadas, Tilting Rock captures this ferocity in a wine rooted in the soils and souls of ancient hillsides.
Tilting Rock combines fruit from Thorevilos and Las Posadas in a wine that expresses the soul of these two vineyards which sit on the eastern slopes of St. Helena, albeit at vastly different altitudes.
Though tempting, calling Tilting Rock a “mountain wine” is too simplistic, too broad a term. This is a wine that pierces the heart of the mountain, a wine that echoes its rugged landscape yet speaks of the specificity of two indelible sites.
“At harvest, we ferment a selection fruit from both sites to find a common bond between vineyard and variety. The fusion of fruit transforms the wine; I liken it alchemy, the result being that thrilling feeling of weightlessness one gets on a trampoline or the highest peak of a swing.”
A local landmark as well as a wine, Tilting Rock is tucked away at the far end of Thorevilos below Howell Mountain Road in eastern St. Helena. For decades locals have made their way via dirt roads and timeworn paths to take in this iconic, natural monument. The fantastical balance of the two rocks seems an apt metaphor for this equally enchanting wine.