Relic

Located in Napa’s Soda Canyon with a stunning view back to San Francisco is Relic. It’s the love and passion of Mike Hirby and Schatzi Throckmorton.

They have been making their wine since 2001 when both Schatzi and Mike were working for Behrens & Hitchcock (now Behrens Family Winery). They continued making wines for 14 years before opening their own facility / winery in Soda Canyon in 2015.

It’s modest when compared with the winery facilities that have sprung up in Napa in the last two decades. A landing pad that doubles as a “patio” tasting area / production facility pad and a cave that doubles as a tasting room / barrel room. Remarkably well thought out – A fantastic use of space! Glamorous – no but what is created here is incredible!

Pinot Noir was their first wine and as the years moved on they added Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon and then Rhone varietals. Today they offer a much larger variety starting off with their Core Cuvées followed by a dozen or two of limited edition wines and finally Microlots – very, very limited wines from a single barrel. It’s quite amazing that it is possible to produce this amount of wine, of such tremendous quality, with the hands of just four people.

It is well worth your time to read more about their methodology and passion in “Our Story” on their website. We look forward to their continued experimentation with the grapes!

Steve Miller is one of Relic’s four. He hosted our tasting in the cave with background music from albums you can choose to play on the turntable. Each wine was marvelous. The Pinot – Ft. Ross Seaview almost transported you to the coast on a foggy evening. The 2021 Ritual red blend was maybe my favorite until we tried the ATMOS Proprietary Red, a Cabernet Franc – The Prior, and an Old Vines Carignane. So tough to have a favorite after those!!!