Seven Apart

Seven Apart. Proprietor Don Dady was born in Santa Rosa and raised west of its city limits in neighboring Sonoma County (a double sports standout at El Molino High School) although he now resides in Phoenix, Arizona. He co-founded Scottsdale, Arizona based Annexus in 2006 with a business partner, Ron Shurts. Annexus focuses on growing and protecting individuals’ retirement savings. While attending the University of San Diego his finance professor, William Nye instilled in his students to look for seven characteristics when evaluating something special. During their class he instructed his students to create an investment portfolio, each containing seven distinguishing characteristics. Don has carried this philosophy with him throughout his career.

When he decided to start a winery in Napa Valley, he located two properties. The property that houses their state-of-the-art winery is located off of the southern Silverado Trail on site of what used to be Van Der Heyden Vineyards. Visitors who last saw the Van Der Heyden winery and tasting room would no longer recognize the changes that have been made to the property both in the vineyard and structurally. Andre Van Der Heyden produced his first vintage in 1984; he sold his Silverado Trail property to Beau Vigne winery who in turn sold it to Seven Apart. Beau Vigne also owned Stags Ridge Vineyard next to Stagecoach Vineyard on Atlas Peak. This vineyard and the Beau Vigne brand were also sold to Seven Apart. Seven Apart later sold the Beau Vigne brand to Napa based Appellation Trading Company but kept Stags Ridge Vineyard.

Ground for the winery was broken in 2018 and was completed by February 2020.

Construction on a separate hospitality center began in November 2020 and was completed by September 2021. The building was designed by Napa based Shawback Design (their first winery project) and the architect of record is James Jeffery Architects. Several of their local winery projects include next door neighbor Black Stallion and St. Clair Brown tasting room in Napa. The winery and hospitality center sit approximately on site of what was the footprint for Van Der Heyden’s old winery and tasting room.

The home winery property or ‘base camp’ is 8 acres; it was replanted in 2021 and 2022, primarily to Cabernet Sauvignon with smaller blocks of Cabernet Franc and Merlot. In 2019 an adjoining 5-acre parcel on the west side of ‘base camp’ was purchased by Dady. This site, called Orange Grove, named after the tiny Orange Grove Lane next to the property was planted to one acre each of Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. Until their young vines started producing, Seven Apart purchased grapes to supplement their production. The development of these vineyards has allowed them to produce 100% estate grown fruit from their three vineyard sites. Their total vineyard footprint now covers approximately 16 acres.

Stags Ridge Vineyard is 8.4 acres, located at 1,400 feet on Atlas Peak and features extremely rocky volcanic soils. A number of prominent vineyards are located nearby including Stagecoach and Antinori. This site was almost entirely planted to Cabernet Sauvignon in 1999 to clone 337 with smaller plantings of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Previously this site produced highly rated wines for Beau Vigne. Founding (but no longer the Seven Apart winemaker) Andy Erickson helped blend the inaugural Seven Apart 2018 vintage and made several subsequent vintages with associate winemaker, Patrick Nyeholt. In part, Andy was intrigued by Stags Ridge Vineyard and the potential to make wine from Atlas Peak for the first time in his career.

Until 2022, Mike Wolf managed their vineyard properties. When he and Andy took over, they implemented some changes to how the vineyards were being managed. First and foremost, they introduced organic farming, setup monitoring sensors on weaker vines, added double lateral polyethylene drip lines and added cross wires higher in the trellising to better manage the canopy. Wolf sold his company in 2022 to Domenick Bianco, who currently manages the Seven Apart vineyards.

When Don purchased these sites and as the project has developed, he identified seven defining characteristics of Seven Apart:
– vineyard orientation, east to west
– unique topography of Stags Ridge Vineyard
– volcanic soils of Stags Ridge Vineyard
– climate of Stags Ridge Vineyard – allowing for warmer days but cooling breezes in the afternoon and cool temperatures at night
– a physical winery
– state of the art winemaking equipment
– an excellent winemaking team

And bonus number eight, is the fact that their winery property off of Silverado Trail is a seven-mile drive to the Stags Ridge property on Atlas Peak (we verified this exact mileage using Google Maps!).

In terms of winemaking, they always let the vineyard and the vintage express itself naturally. And their philosophy is that your next vintage should be your best vintage. Always striving to improve in both the vineyard and the cellar. Minute details add up. And its helpful they have more tanks in the winery than they need. The fermentations are started using indigenous yeast, if the native ferments are not strong enough, they will inoculate with commercial yeasts. And their use of oak is always judicious, providing a complementary character rather than dominating.

Select Wines
Sauvignon Blanc
The 2023 Seven Apart Sauvignon Blanc is medium straw in color; the bouquet smells fresh including aromas of not fully ripe pineapple, guava, pomelo, citrus blossom, star jasmine, peach blossom and a subtle herbal note of kaffir lime and lemongrass. This is a bright but not a green, grassy or herbal expression of the variety. And this wine tastes like golden delicious apple, apricot, nectarine, pineapple guava, pomelo, grapefruit and lime. Its texture is a hallmark of this bottling, sporting a fleshy, rounded and creamy character which is complemented and lifted by the lively acidity. Balanced. Not herbal and a full expression of California sunshine, but not overtly tropical. This wine was aged in 24% new French oak, 47% used French oak barrels and 29% stainless steel vessels for between 6-7 months. The grapes for their early Sauvignon Blanc was sourced from Somerston Estate in Chiles Valley through the 2024 vintage. Only one acre of this variety is planted near the winery with 0.8 of the block planted to Sauvignon Blanc and 0.2% planted to Sauvignon Musqué.

Cabernet Sauvignon
Expedition
The 2021 Seven Apart The Expedition, Base Camp Vineyard is a blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc 2% Petit Verdot. This wine is deep ruby and nearly opaque; smells both elegant and higher toned featuring layers of red fruits. These scents include raspberry, red plum, red cherry, red currant with some herbal notes including of dried sage, bay leaf, dust, tobacco leaf and light note of cocoa powder. Bright and balanced, its flavors include red cherry, red plum, currant, licorice and dried sage. The tannins are light to moderately gripping with a rounded and tumbled textural character. Lingers savory with a dusty and chalky character which gently outpaces the fruit on the finish,

The 2018 Seven Apart The Expedition is 98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. This wine spent 18 months in French oak. The bouquet is elegant with darker fruit aromas and as it opens shows some floral notes including of violets. There are also hints of dried herbs and tobacco leaf. Superbly balanced right out of the gate, the palate is mouthwatering and juicy. Offers slightly dusty tannins which are rounded in texture with a medium grip. Lingers with a vitality and a liveliness that is refreshing. This wine is very much ready to consume in its youth. This wine is the only red bottling that is not 100% varietal; it incorporates grapes from both of the properties.

The Shale
The 2021 Seven Apart The Shale is 100% varietal Cabernet Sauvignon from both the Stags Ridge Vineyard. This wine is deep ruby and opaque; fully ripe its aromas are darker fruits including cherry, dark plum, blackberry jam, boysenberry, Himalayan purple mulberry, a fruit we are intimately familiar with, bittersweet chocolate, Graham cracker, cocoa powder and mocha. Well-layered in terms of both its fruit and structure. On the palate there are flavors of dark plum, blackberry, dark cherry, boysenberry and a brambly character. The finish is savory, sprinkled with dark spices including crushed pepper, smoked sage, and dried bay leaf, and an a earthy or dusty character. The tannins are highly present, but are not edgy or course, still they are an ideal representation of both the mountain site and this particular vintage in Napa Valley. Their texture far outpaces the fruit on the finish with a persistent drying character.

The 2018 Seven Apart The Shale is from the southern part of Stags Ridge Vineyard, a block that features predominantly shale rock. This wine is dark ruby in the glass; the bouquet initially offers notes of dark olive, old cedar, dark earth notes and a minerality. As the wine evolves in the glass, showcases darker fruit aromatics including of blackberry, black licorice and plum. Features plenty of aromatic depth. The tannins are firm and dense but hold up to the power of the fruit.

The Basalt
The 2021 Seven Apart Basalt Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal; this wine is deep ruby and opaque; a combination of both earth and ripe dark fruits, its scents include petrichor, the resulting smell of rain on dry earth after an extended period of time, sweet pipe tobacco, dark plum, blackberry jam, boysenberry, and dark cocoa powder. Plush, fully ripe and quintessentially contemporary Napa Valley, its flavors include dark cherry, blackberry, dark plum, boysenberry and dark chocolate. The tannins take a significant textural step up on this bottling; they are firmly gripping, chewy, and persist for quite some time with a dusty and chalky character. The finish shows some noticeable lingering warmth deep on the palate. This wine was aged in 72% new French oak for 24 months in French oak barrels.

The 2018 Seven Apart The Basalt is sourced from a northern section of Stags Ridge Vineyard – a block that features primarily basalt rock. Offers a spicy plum note on the bouquet along with blackberry. The nose is somewhat briary. Ripe but not over ripe. A hint of old cedar box shows deeper into the aromatics. The fruit is expressive and is front and center, while the oak is a complementing factor. This wine is full-bodied and well-layered across the palate. The tannins are slightly chewy and linger with a dry, dark and earth note. This is an ideal Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon for those looking for structure, complexity and intensity of fruit.

The Summit
The 2021 Seven Apart The Summit is deep ruby, opaque and shows purplish tinges on the rim; the aromatic intensity is focused on ripeness of fruit with oak a very complementary character. These scents include blackberry jam, boysenberry spread, dark cherry, black plum, dark baking spices, pipe tobacco, dust and old cedar box. This is a big boy in terms of both flavor and structure. Built to impress in its youth, but also built to impress in terms of aging. Its flavors include dark cherry, blackberry, boysenberry, dark plum at the peak of ripeness, baker’s chocolate, sage, crushed pepper, bay leaf and loads of earth. By earth we mean a significant dollop of dust, dried river rocks (yes we have tried these before) and chalk. These drying characteristics fully coat every crack and crevasse on the palate and far outrun the fruit on the finish. This wine was aged for 24 months in 60% new French oak barrels. Highly cellar worthy.

The 2018 Seven Apart The Summit is sourced from a special part of the Stags Ridge Vineyard – a rolling section of the vineyard that features a blend of both shale and basalt rocks located between the northern and southern part of the site. Less than 10 rows are planted in this part of the vineyard. The winemaking team only selects the best lots produced each vintage, as a result only several barrels of the 2018 vintage were produced. The wine is very dark ruby in the glass, the bouquet initially offers some subtle savory notes including of old cedar box, sage and according to General Manager, Yannick Girardo, a teak wood nuance. Along with intriguing darker fruit flavors, one immediately notices the broad density of the tannin texture across the palate. They are firm and persistent and linger with hints of dried tobacco leaf. While highly enjoyable in its youth, this wine is clearly built to age.

With the exception of The Expedition, the other wines generally are aged for 24 months in French oak and then are aged in bottle up to a year before being released. And in May 2022, rocket scientist, climber and explorer Megan Buchanan stood on the summit of Mt. Everest with a bottle of Seven Apart. She has summitted the highest mountains on all continents and also reached both the north and south poles.

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The label is a clever representation of both the Stags Ridge property and the name Seven Apart, depicting a tilted numerical seven, the top part representing the uppermost reaches of the Stags Ridge property. And the back label depicts a bar with seven segments alternating between black and gold colors, representing the seven miles distance between their two properties.

Seven Apart is permitted to produce up to 6,000 cases but current total production is only around 2,000 cases annually, with the majority of that production being the Expedition bottling. Most of the wines are sold through their allocation list but Seven Apart also has very limited restaurant distribution in parts of Arizona and select international placement. And Seven Apart hosts a limited number of in-home tastings across the country each year.

Visits are reserved for active members of their allocation list and are highly personalized. Expect to spend about two hours here. For more information and to join the allocation list, visit: www.sevenapart.com

Van Der Heyden Winery
We took these photographs towards the end of Van Der Heyden’s ownership of this property; we keep these and our brief notes here for historical reference.

Andre Van Der Heyden immigrated to the USA as a teenager from the Netherlands. Andre’s family was in the furniture business; he never considered a career in winemaking in the early days. Then a friend gave him a Cabernet Sauvignon and at that point he was hooked on discovering more information about the wine industry. He took a home winemakers class and in 1977 he and his family moved to Napa Valley.

The tasting room was located in a small wooden room located right next to the fermentation tanks and wine making equipment. After parking next to the vineyards, guests would walk towards the back near the fermentation tanks to reach the tasting room. A plethora of cool knick-knacks were housed in the small room (covering the walls) including old casings from WWII, a large insect or two and interesting signs, some of which were for sale. A few of our favorites were, “Friends and wine should be old” — and, “there will be a $5 charge for whining.”

Known for some of their unique wines, a couple of these bottlings included a late harvest Cabernet Sauvignon and a partial skin and seed contact fermented Chardonnay. Total production always varied but usually was between 2,500 and 3,000 cases.

In 1995 the Ambassador of the Netherlands, Adriaan Jacobovits de Szeged and his wife Francoise visited van der Heyden Winery.