Aequitas Vineyards was founded by three partners, prominent lawyer David Boies (who also co-owns Hawk and Horse Vineyards in neighboring Lake County), Stephen Zack who served as President of the American Bar Association and Napa native, Amy Ash. Boies worked at Cravath, Swaine & Moore a law firm dating from 1819 before he left in 1997 and that same year co-founded the now national New York City based law firm Boies, Schiller and Flexner LLP with Jonathan D. Schiller. This firm has grown significantly since its inception and now employees more than 300 lawyers and also maintain offices in select U.S. cities and in London and Milan. In 2014 Boies co-authored, Redeeming The Dream The Case for Marriage Equality with Theodore B. Olson, the story of how both men who previously had argued against each other, fought together for marriage equality all the way to the Supreme Court.
Amy has been involved in local real estate for many years, is a licensed real estate agent and also designs and remodels homes in Napa Valley. Because her two partners are not often in Napa, her role is one of overseeing the brand, helping with securing vineyard sources and providing input into the direction of the business. This is not Amy’s first experience in the wine world; she was closely involved with Ghost Horse Vineyards and was the General Manager of Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards for four years (where we first met her).
The centerpiece of their wines is a vineyard on the lower slopes of Atlas Peak; the property is 22 acres of which 4.5 are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. The property has great views of the southern part of Napa Valley and overlooks the golf course at Silverado Country Club. This land was never planted to vines when they acquired it in 2009. With Amy’s suggestion, they planted both olive trees and vineyards the following year and they do make a small amount of olive oil from the trees on site. The vines are at an elevation of 800 feet. Aequitas also sources from several other non Napa Valley estate vineyards.
With a strong legal background representing the ownership, they carefully chose the name Aequitas – which in Latin refers to justice or fairness.
Amy’s connections in the wine world were valuable when looking for a winemaker. Long time Napa winemaker Jason Moore was hired. As of our last update (and where we tasted the wines), production is at Brasswood Estate and visitors to the valley interested in trying the wines, can do so here (appointment only). Tours of the estate property can also be arranged.
Wines/Winemaking
Their inaugural release was from 2014 with two red wines made mostly from their estate grapes including a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Cabernet Franc. They also produced two Chardonnay wines with one from the acclaimed Muir-Hannah vineyard in Oak Knoll (incidentally John Muir’s great grandson is the owner of this vineyard and was one of the Chardonnay vineyards that produced the grapes for Chateau Montelena’s 1973 vintage which won the “Judgement of Paris”) and the other from the Russian River appellation in neighboring Sonoma County.
Their first vintage was just under 700 cases in total – their Cabernet Sauvignon is their most produced wine.
The difference in their two Chardonnays to a great extent, reflects the various terroir differences from the two source vineyards. Their wine making style is similar for both wines – using 50% new French oak with about 40% of the wine going through malolactic fermentation. These wines were aged sur lies for 18 months.
The 2014 Aequitas Vineyards Napa Valley Chardonnay shows a bright bouquet filled with various citrus aromas including tangerine, a lemon zest and citrus blossom – with a subtle kiss of caramel which shows more towards the background of the bouquet. On the palate, this wine offers lively fruit, bright acidity and intense flavor with a desert spice note on the finish along with a slight tartness (green apple).
The 2014 Aequitas Vineyards Russian River Chardonnay shows aromas of pineapple, a minerality (wet rock) and a slight raciness to the bouquet along with initial hints of caramel and subtle toasted oak aromas. The bouquet offers well-layered and diverse aromatics. It is rich, yet balanced showing a bright simultaneous acidity. This wine is generous across the palate and features a very long finish.
The 2014 Aequitas Vineyards Cabernet Franc (25% Merlot from Carneros) initially shows a smokiness and a tobacco cedar box mix of aromas; as it breathes more fruit shows with aromas of blueberry. This is a great food wine with an underlying mouth watering component (excellent acidity). Lighter in style it also drinks well by itself. If features a lingering red cherry tartness along with well-integrated soft tannins.
The 2014 Aequitas Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is really dark in the glass showing ruby red with purplish tinges on the rim. The bouquet offers very bright fruit aromatics including dark cherry and blackberry along with hints of black olive. It is ripe but still elegant in it’s aromatic approach. The bouquet perhaps would lead one to think this is going to be a riper style of wine; while the palate shows plenty of power it also exhibits restraint. Layers of dark fruit with fairly robust tannins anchor a long finish.
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Keep an eye on this producer; with a beautiful estate and partners who are committed to success, their contribution to the Napa wine world should be a long lasting one. To join their mailing list or request a tasting appointment, visit: www.aequitasvineyards.com
NOTE: this review has been identified as needing a *major* update.
Hawk & Horse Winery, Lake County
Hawk & Horse Winery is located on the nearly 1,200 acre Diamond B Ranch with the tasting room right next to Highway 29 a short drive from Lower Lake in Lake County (about a 40 minute drive from Calistoga in Napa Valley). The property is in the Red Hills Ava and ranges in elevation from approximately 1,800 to 2,200 feet; the soils are primarily volcanic in origin and commonly an iron rich reddish color. It is planted to 18 acres of certified biodynamic vineyards including Cabernet Sauvignon and other red Bordeaux varieties. The ranch also features four lakes, a small hospitality center (located inside of a former horse trainer’s residence) and an equestrian center with both indoor and outdoor riding arenas.
David Boies purchased what was called the El Roble Grande Ranch in 1982. It was named in honor of what was thought to be the largest valley oak tree in California, El Roble Grande which was more than 200 feet tall and 37 feet in circumference before it tragically toppled over in the winter of 1952. At the time of Boies purchase the ranch was abandoned and previously used for horse breeding.
The first vines were planted in 2001 and the first vintage of wine was from 2004. Boies step daughter Tracey Hawkins is their winemaker and her husband Mitch oversees their vineyards. Both are partners with Boies in Hawk and Horse Winery.
The last update we have about Hawk & Horse, is that it was for sale for 18 million. We will keep an eye on this property and update this review accordingly once we have more details. A visit and tasting potentially coming by 2022 or 2023. For more information, visit: www.hawkandhorsevineyards.com
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