Ilsley Vineyards are located in the Stags Leap District – the family roots date back over 100 years in the Napa Valley when Jack (John) and Florence Ilsley and their daughter Evelyn immigrated to the U.S. (Ellis Island) from England. The young family originally had tickets on the RMS Titanic leaving Southampton on April 10, 1912, but they were forced to give up their seats to another family. The Titanic sunk on April 15, 1912. As a result of not boarding the Titanic, they changed plans and bought tickets on the RMS Carmania which departed from Liverpool on April 6th of that year.
Jack and Florence’s son Ernest Ilsley was born in Napa in 1912. Ernie’s career was not in the wine industry but rather working at Basalt Rock Company which later became Kaiser Steel of Napa in 1955. He later became Vice President of Kaiser Steel and was on their board of directors.
Ernest and his wife Laura “June” Ilsley began growing grapes in the region in 1954 after purchasing 40 acres. The family acquired an additional 114 acres nine years later and called the property the Downey Ranch, naming it after the gentleman who sold them the parcel, John Downey, whose family had planted grapes on site before 1900. The Ilsley family has been farming this land ever since, although over the years the varieties of grapes grown here have changed.
For a number of years, the vineyards were planted to Carignane and Zinfandel until Robert Mondavi suggested they plant the vineyard entirely to Cabernet Sauvignon which they did in 1964. In the 1960s they were selling grapes to Charles Krug and then later to Robert Mondavi. For decades Robert Mondavi Winery continued to purchase fruit from their vineyards; today one of their premium vineyard neighbors Shafer Vineyards purchases their grapes. And in a treasured historical footnote, some of the grapes for Robert Mondavi’s first Cabernet Sauvignon were in fact from Ilsley Vineyards. Today the vineyard is predominately planted to Cabernet Sauvignon with smaller plantings of various Bordeaux red varieties as well as a tiny amount of rare for the Stags Leap District, Sangiovese.
Ernest was also instrumental in helping found the Stags Leap District AVA.
After selling grapes for decades, in 2000 the third generation began managing the vineyards and at that time decided to produce the family’s first commercial wine (their first vintage was from 2000). The family is involved in all aspects of the production of this wine; Ernie, who is in Napa’s Vintage High Athletic Hall of Fame, oversees the winery operations, David handles vineyard management for Ilsley Vineyard Management and Janice operates the business side of their business. Craig McLean was hired as their founding winemaker; he is no longer making the wine; last we heard he was somewhat retired living the life of a semi-nomad in an RV home touring the country.
From 2009 until 2018 Scotland born (moved to the United States when she was eight), Heather Pyle-Lucas was their winemaker. Intrigued by veterinarian medicine she chose the largest and perhaps most well-known school in the country for this particular field, UC Davis. Connecting more with wine making rather than veterinarian studies ultimately, she graduated with a Master of Science (M.S.) in Winemaking from UC Davis. During her studies she worked a harvest at Robert Mondavi Winery and then spent 17 years there (which is where she connected with the Ilsleys). Today, Tony Arcudi is the winemaker for Ilsley Vineyards.
Production typically runs around 400 to 600 cases annually which is certainly among the smaller producers in the valley. They have the capacity to increase production if they want (due to the size of their vineyard, 23 acres) however all siblings have other careers (mostly in the wine industry), and their current production is a manageable size. And by remaining small they can really focus on attention to detail on the blocks within their vineyard used for making their own wines.
The Ilsley’s are some of the most down to earth people you will meet in Napa and a visit to their vineyard is a highly personalized experience.
In terms of winemaking, it has been gratifying to see how their commitment to excellence has developed over the years. And it has. The Ilsley wines have never been more exciting than they are today, complex, fresh, and entirely age worthy.
Select Wines
Whites
Sauvignon Blanc
The 2025 Isley Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Yountville is medium gold in color; the bouquet smells bright and lifted with plenty of spring florals including honeysuckle, jasmine, citrus blossom and stone fruits including apricot, yellow nectarine and tropical fruits, i.e., mango, pineapple and papaya. And a hint of vanilla as the wine opens. In terms of aromatics, this wine is well-layered. This wine is not a green or grassy expression nor is it overtly tropical either, but saddled somewhere in between. Built upon the back of intensely flavored fruit while complemented with a lively acidity. This wine tastes like golden apples, pineapple, pineapple guava, lime and Meyer lemon. We don’t always call Napa Valley Sauvignon Blancs sophisticated, but this wine fits that adjective perfectly. The lightly rounded texture is buoyed by a lively thread of acidity. Finishes fresh with a mouthwatering
The 2022 Isley Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Yountville is deep straw in color; the bouquet sports aromas of citrus blossom, lemon zest, honeydew melon, passion fruit, pineapple, quince, green apple, fresh cut grass and a very subtle layer of vanilla. It scents are vibrant, youthful and fresh. The palate offers flavors of green apple, pineapple, mandarin orange, honeydew melon, lemon sorbet and a bright citrusy flavor accompanied by a slight sweet perceived note (from richness of fruit not residual sugar) on the finish. Balanced, flavorful, bright and refreshing, this bottling shows its inherent varietal characteristics without being overtly green or grassy. Only 89 cases were produced.
The 2016 JK Ilsley Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc (Musqué clone) is from Yountville. Fairly deep yellow in the glass, this wine is not shy aromatically. It is floral, with pretty aromas of honeysuckle and citrus blossom along with lemon-lime zest and hints of ripe stone fruit. Rounded and creamy on the palate, it offers a pleasing freshness with flavors of citrus, pear and white peach. However, this is not a more austere, grassy style of this variety; rather, its focus is clearly on the fruit and its texture. It drinks well by itself and is nicely balanced between fruit, weight and acidity. The finish is clean and lingers with citrus notes including mandarin and orange, along with a subtle mineral character.
Rose
The 2024 Rogue Rosé is 100% Merlot, an extremely rare bottling of rose from this variety in Napa Valley. The grapes were intentionally grown and made for this wine and were direct to press. This wine is deep pink; this wine smells like honeycomb/bees wax, cran-apple, watermelon jolly rancher, red strawberries and ruby grapefruit. This wine smells fruity, fun and flirty. Bone dry, minerally, and intensely flavored, this wine tastes like cranberry, currant, wild strawberries, pink grapefruit, Rainier cherry, not fully ripe nectarines and a finishing zesty note of lime. Not a light rose, the palate offers a rounded and silky texture, buoyed high by a vibrant thread of acidity. And the quote on the back label states, “When the Isley women go rogue, great things happen.”
Reds
Pinot Noir
The 2023 Ilsley Vineyards Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley Sonoma County (Bacigalupi Vineyard) is pale ruby in color; the bouquet is a red fruited union of raspberry jam, cherry cola, red licorice, currants, blood orange, and truffles; this latter aromatic reminded us of a dinner we enjoyed at Le Clarence in Paris when the waiter opened a tray filled with truffles and the resulting aromas which immediately permeated the room. There are also some sweet spice notes tucked away deeper in the aromatics including cocoa powder, cardamom and nutmeg. The flavorful palate offers sweet notes of strawberry, cherry cola, dark raspberry, root beer and red plum. This wine lingers a little bit savory with a white pepper spice and a note of bacon fat. The fully-ripened tannins are resolved and rounded and linger softly on the finish with a gentle dusty grip. We felt a gentle warmth in the back of the throat. This is a ripe expression of the variety.
Seis Primas
In 2007, Ilsley Vineyards introduced a second wine, Seis Primas which is Spanish means “six girl cousins”. This wine is named after the 4th Ilsley generation, all daughters including Kimberly, Julia, Alyssa, Analise, Kate and Olivia. This proprietary blend is always led by Malbec with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and sometimes Petit Verdot. This wine is appropriately sourced from 6 separate vineyard blocks.
The 2023 Ilsley Vineyards Seis Primas is a blend of 75% Malbec, 15% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine is deep ruby with amaranthine hues and nearly opaque; lifted from its bright red fruited tones and with some floral influences, this wine smells like violets, lilacs and lavender, along with blueberries, boysenberry, dark plum and red cherry. The focus is on the fruit but with a savory edge including of dried sage and a hint of tobacco spice. Still highly youthful at three years post vintage, this wine tastes like red plums, boysenberry, currant, cherry and red cherry. Finishes red fruited and tart. The tannins are tightly woven, persisting with a gravelly and grainy grip, persisting beyond the fruit on the finish. This wine is on an upward trajectory at this age, and is still a number of years from peaking.
The 2018 Ilsley Vineyards Seis Primas is a blend of 66% Malbec, 17% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot. This wine is deep ruby in color; the aromatics are hedonistic with plenty of fruit including blackberry, dark cherry, boysenberry, dark chocolate, dark olive, a complementary character of toasted oak and mocha. The aromatics smell ripe yet simultaneously also smell fresh. We tasted this wine 5 years post vintage date. The palate offers flavors of black licorice, dark cherry, boysenberry, mulberry, blackberry jam and flirts with a note of Graham Cracker. The tannins are finely grained and lightly chalky. Their feel contributes to a seamless, long and enjoyable finish.
The 2014 Ilsley Vineyards Seis Primas is a blend of 55% Malbec, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 13% Merlot. Dark ruby-purple in the glass, this wine immediately reveals an expressive aromatic profile centered on darker fruits, including blackberry, black plum, and cassis, layered with a spicy plum note, Asian spices, and a subtle hint of tobacco. As the wine opens, additional nuances of cocoa, cedar, and dried herbs emerge, adding further complexity to the bouquet. On the palate, the wine offers a pleasing interplay between both red and dark fruit flavors, including blackberry, red cherry, and ripe currant. The texture is polished and well-balanced, anchored by seamless fine-grained tannins that linger delicately across the finish without overwhelming the fruit. Bright acidity provides freshness and lift, giving the wine both energy and approachability. Despite its structure and depth, this wine is remarkably accessible in its youth, offering immediate enjoyment while still possessing the balance to evolve gracefully over time.
DDR
The 2022 Ilsley Family DDR (Downey Ranch Red) is a blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc. This is a wine club only bottling. This wine is medium to deep ruby; both red and darker fruited with a savory edge, the bouquet sports scents of dark plum, dark cherry, and a brambly tone including blackberry and dark raspberry. The oak is a lovely complement here, seated far in the back seat lending a light voice to this aromatic conversation. Bright, fresh and filled with movement due to the lively acidity, this wine is in a balanced state at four years post vintage. Red fruited with a tart grip, its flavors include cherry, Santa Rosa plum, Persian mulberry, boysenberry, currant, cranberry with a light herbal note on the finish. Persists fresh, with seamlessly integrated tannins, felt with a well tumbled and lightly dusty character. We are not sure we could have identified this wine as a 2022 in a blind tasting; this year in Napa Valley was exceptionally hot and a challenge.
Petite Sirah
The 2023 Ilsley Vineyards, Stags Leap District is deep ruby with some amaranthine hues and nearly opaque; it smells floral with aromas of violets and lavender, Satsuma plum, boysenberry, Pakistani mulberry, blueberry, and almost crosses into the territory of citrus, i.e. blood orange and grapefruit. Lifted by the acidity, the palate is fresh with a lively character that runs the length of the palate. This wine tastes like blueberry, dark currant, cranberries, boysenberry, not fully ripe blackberries and finishing notes of dried sage and bay leaf. Still very youthful, but perhaps starting it come into its own at 3 years post vintage, this wine finishes with gravelly and lightly grainy tannins, that run in tandem with both fruit and juicy acidity on the finish. And that is worth mentioning, many Napa Valley wines showcase texture that far outpaces fruit and acidity, this wine is not one of them. We would like to try this bottling every 5 years for the next 30 years. I’m sure we won’t be disappointed. And or you, either.
Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
And during some years Ilsley produces a barrel selection Reserve wine; this bottling is typically only 1 or 2 barrels which stand out as being superior and distinctive for a variety of reasons.
The 2021 Ilsley Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal; this wine is deep ruby and nearly opaque. The aromatics are distinctive, probably helping us identify this wine in a blind tasting. It smells briary including aromas of blackberry and raspberry, along with cherry, red plums, boysenberry, rose petals and violets. The fruit does most of the aromatic lifting here, with the oak taking a complementary role. Layered in terms of both fruit and texture, and loaded with movement from the juicy acidity, this wine is still on the youthful side at 5 years post vintage. It tastes like red cherry, red plums, currant, Persian mulberry, cranberry and not fully ripe blueberries. Finishes with a noteworthy vibrancy, a higher pitched tone that is going to keep this wine fresh for years to come. The lightly grainy tannins persist in tandem with both tart red fruits and acidity with neither character pulling away from each other. NWP: 97-99.
The 2019 Ilsley Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal; it is deep ruby with an amaranthine rim; immediately expressive, the bouquet is not shy and offers a powerful punch of ripe fruit aromatics. These include dark cherry, blackberry, boysenberry and dark plum, with addition layers of baking chocolate, mocha, a light kiss of old cedar wood, and sweet tobacco spice. This wine is very youthful across the palate in terms of the cohesion of flavor, texture and acidity at 5 years post vintage at the time of our tasting. Its dark fruited aromas are echoed on the palate to some extent including of blackberry, boysenberry, mulberry and dark plum along with cracked dark peppercorn and a lingering woodsy spice. Bright and boisterous, this wine offers loads of character. The grainy and sturdy tannins parallel the fruit for some time on the savory and mouth watering finish, with its texture ultimately the lasting temperament. This should be a formable wine for years to come with the proper cellaring. Pair with a well marbled cut of ribeye steak and a BBQ.
The 2015 Ilsley Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec and 1% Merlot. It was aged for 21 months in 100% new French oak barrels. This wine is deep ruby; the immediately open-knitted bouquet offers aromas of sweet cherry, red licorice, red plums, dried cranberries, sweet tobacco spice, old cedar wood, cocoa powder and potpourri. Balanced across the palate, it offers both red and darker fruited flavors including raspberry, cherry, and plum accompanied by dark pepper, a meaty/gamey character and herbs including sage and a hint of mint. The firmly gripping tannins linger with both a gravelly texture and a persistent and penetrating chalky grip. There are some similarities to previous other Reserve Isley bottlings, including its savory attributes, especially noticeable on the finish. This wine is still energetic and youthful 9 years post vintage at the time of our tasting. Only 49 cases were produced of this beauty.
Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2022 Ilsley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon is 3% Malbec. This wine is medium ruby in color, a shade lighter than the 2021 bottling. This wine smells ripe, like the vintage, sweetly fruited, this wine sports scents of raspberry jam, fig compote, blackberry spread and Santa Rosa plums that have dropped on the ground and have laid there for several days, dried rose petals and a ferrous element. Ripe, yet there is an acidity that tempers this somewhat – the palate is more intriguing than the bouquet at four years post vintage. It tastes like Santa Rosa plum, boysenberry, red cherries, currants and cranberry. The tannins are integrated nicely, evenly dispersed with a gravelly and grainy texture. Finishes with a vibrant thread of acidity, not verbiage we always use to describe wines from 2022 in Napa Valley.
The 2021 Ilsley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal; this wine is medium to deep ruby. The bouquet is lifted from its red fruited character, savory with character, this is not a ‘contemporary’ expression of Napa Valley. Geared down. With complexity, both on the bouquet and the palate. And we like that. It smells savory with aromas of dried sage, dried bay leaf, a hint of old cedar box, violets, lavender and red plums, cherry and red mulberry. Fresh, this wine tastes like red plums, boysenberry, red cherry, currant and a light but lasting note of dried tobacco leaf. The tannins are lightly grainy with persisting subtle dusty character, in tandem with both fruit and a vivacious acidity. This wine is showing in a sweet spot at five years post vintage.
The 2004 Ilsley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot, is drinking beautifully at this stage, showcasing a seamless sense of balance and composure; it offers rich and intense fruit flavors layered with depth, supported by firm, structured yet characteristically supple Stags Leap tannins that provide both backbone and finesse. The wine’s energetic acidity lifts the palate, keeping the fruit vibrant and well-defined while preventing any heaviness. Despite its current approachability, the harmony between acidity and tannin suggests excellent aging potential, indicating it will continue to evolve gracefully for many years. When we tasted this wine approximately three years post vintage, it already demonstrated impressive integration, hinting at the longevity and complexity it continues to develop over time.
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The devastating fires of October 2017 came over the hills from the south and the east and burned onto their property. Some of the family stayed on site and physically fought the fires and in what was a heroic effort, they saved their homes. In the aftermath of the fire, one could clearly see the devastation with nearby slopes and trees severely burned. Vineyards tend to be a firebreak and in a number of cases saved homes and wineries in the area from being burned. The fire unfortunately burned about 1.5 acres of vines (however it could have been much worse).
For a short while, the wines were available at Silenus tasting room on Solano Ave north of the city of Napa.
For more information, to purchase wines and or to join their mailing list, visit: www.ilsleyvineyards.com
ARCHIVED NOTES
Mia Carta Napa Valley
Until late 2023, Ilsley was part of a small collective of boutique Napa Valley based wineries represented at Mia Carta Wine Lounge in downtown Napa. We keep our notes here for historical reference. This space is located at 1209 1st Street next to Rebel Vintners near the intersection of 1st and Coombs Streets. It had a soft opening to the public on May 22, 2021, and officially opened on June 17, 2021.
This space houses several premium boutique Napa Valley producers including Essere Franco, Earthshine wines and Majuscule Vineyards. Sharon Harris, proprietor of Rarecat learned about the space early on, and then invited several of her friends to join including Redmon Wines and Ilsley Vineyards.
A significant amount of thought and effort went into the renovation of this space. A couple of items inside quickly catch one’s eye including the Italian Piaggio “Ape del Vino” or in English, referred to as the Wine Bee. It was purchased in Italy, restored and then shipped over – it unfortunately was stuck for quite some time at the port of Galveston in Texas before it cleared customs and reached Napa Valley. It is fully functional and is operated by a two-stroke Vespa engine. The back opens up to reveal wine kegs with spigots on the side of the vehicle – making this ideal to take to various wine tasting events. And the 145 piece ‘puzzle’ of walnut wood built against the back wall is in the three-dimensional shape of a street grid of downtown Napa – complete with an outline of Napa River and a red marking to indicate Mia Carta’s location on the map.
Recycled cork from cork manufacturer, Amorim Cork America lines the east wall of the space. If one casually glances at this wall, one will think it’s one entire piece of cork, but each piece is a quarter offset, so the lines are hard to see between each of the pieces. With Norm’s background as President & Co-founder of Calgary based ZeroSound Systems, his knowledge and expertise were used during the renovation of the interior space. Acoustic tiles are placed on top of the tin stamped metal ceilings – if one looks carefully one can almost see the tiny holes punched in each of these tin squares, which are part of the design to help mitigate noise. The bar and some of the tabletops are constructed from Richlite, a recycled paper/resin composite.
Visitors taste either inside or outside weather permitting (heat lamps are built into the outdoor overhang), choosing flights from any of the vintners or by the glass or by the bottle. This part of the building used to be recessed – set back more from First Street but during the renovation it was expanded, providing more interior space. And a private tasting room is located in the rear of the space.
For those into wine, it is easy to spend an afternoon in this part of downtown Napa – numerous tasting rooms are within several blocks of Mia Carta. For more details about this beautiful space and or to make a reservation, please visit: www.miacartanapa.com
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