Calistoga, California–Aug. 16, 2024–Jayson Woodbridge, founder and owner of Hundred Acre Wine Group, has acquired Napa Valley’s famed Kelly Fleming Winery, a 286-acre estate in Simmons Canyon between Calistoga and St. Helena on the east side of Napa Valley facing almost due west.
“When I acquired this property in 1998, I had a vision for creating an estate that would be worthy of this special volcanic canyon terroir. I’ve seen my dream come true,” Kelly Fleming said.
“I’ve left this estate vineyard as beautiful as I found it. It has a tiny footprint, it’s a memorable place to visit and celebrate Cabernet Sauvignon. I look forward to the Woodbridge family carrying on the legacy, bringing their masterful touch to the wines they’ll create here,” Kelly added.
“Kelly started her vineyard with Jim Barbour, Hundred Acre’s viticulturist from the very beginning 25 years ago and in my opinion still one of the best in the world. Barbour Vineyards will be farming this land again for us,” said Woodbridge.
“Kelly smartly and very tastefully used Taylor Lombardo Architects to design her cave, winery and hilltop residence. So too, Hundred Acre is also busy using Taylor Lombardo to redesign our ARK vineyard residence, the Fortunate Son Winery at the Historic David Fulton Ranch on Fulton Lane, St. Helena, the redesign of the former Madrigal winery and residence to a new Fortunate Son Winery on Highway 29, near Larkmead Lane and other projects. It’s a perfect fit for Hundred Acre. We are proud and privileged to have acquired this property we have long admired, from Kelly,” Woodbridge said.
The Fleming Wines estate includes 12 acres of vineyards, a 5,000-sq. ft stone winery, a 7,000 sq. ft. natural rock cave, a commercial kitchen, and a classic stone residence on an adjacent knoll.
The Fleming property adjoins Hundred Acre’s “Few and Far Between” vineyard, a mere 5 acres of vineyard of a 115-acre total property, now creating 17 acres of Hundred Acre vines total that will be cultivated, farmed and picked to Hundred Acre’s impeccable standards. The two ranches combined will be approximately 400 acres.
“We look at every single vine in our vineyards. We pre-prune the canes, then prune for extremely low tonnage, use specially made organic composts, with minimal water usage always top of mind. We build up the soil over the course of decades. When we pick, we make multiple passes, sometimes up to seven passes of each block, each pass fermented separately of course,” added Woodbridge in describing his meticulous attention to the details of the care of the fruit and vines and naturally meticulous wine making Hundred Acre is known for worldwide.
The winery facilities at the Fleming ranch are carved into the hillside, much like Hundred Acre’s “The Ring” cave winery. This acquisition will allow for more barrel fermentations in the caves which is a very space intensive process but central to Hundred Acre’s and Fortunate Son’s micro fermentations, style and strict pick regimen.
The Fleming property features a commercial kitchen with outdoor fireplaces and entertainment areas. Guests will be welcomed to the property starting in spring 2025 by invitation only.
Woodbridge said the first harvest from the formerly Kelly Fleming vineyards will be this fall for Hundred Acre to be named as a vineyard designate in the future.
In July, he purchased Madrigal Vineyards. The 10-acre Madrigal property, located between Calistoga and St. Helena, consists of 8 acres of planted vineyards, a production facility, appointment-only tasting room, a garden, and a small private estate.
In 2020, Woodbridge purchased the historic David Fulton Ranch, one of the first vineyards and wineries established in Napa Valley in 1860 and the seventh house built in St. Helena. In 2022, he bought a historic 1870s era 18-acre vineyard at Calistoga’s Larkmead Lane and the corner of Highway 29, renamed “True Romance” vineyard (romance being an anagram of his son Cameron’s name).
Kelly Fleming Background
Kelly Fleming’s current releases are 2019 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2021 Big Pour and 2023 Sauvignon Blanc. Her next release consists of a vertical 2014 – 2019 of Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2019 The Bear & The Bee Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2023 Queen Bee, a proprietary reserve Sauvignon Blanc. To purchase the wines and enjoy in-person tastings in the Napa Valley, customers can make arrangements on the website.
“The estate is a dramatically beautiful setting, with sloping hills, oaks, olive trees and vistas into the distance. In 1999 I planted Cabernet Sauvignon and in 2002 I released my first Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2010 the winery building was completed.
Fleming’s founding winemaker was Celia Welch, followed by Rebecca George, who made all the wines from 2013-2020. “Rebecca is an exceptional winemaker and her professionalism and expertise created our identity as a distinctive producer,” Fleming says. “I’m proud to have always had an all-female winemaking and management team.”
About Hundred Acre Wine Group
As the sole winemaker for Hundred Acre, Jayson Woodbridge has created some of the world’s most sought-after wines, producing 65 scores of 100 points over the last 19 vintages, the most 100-point scores of any wine. Jayson and his wife Helen Woodbridge are the sole proprietors of Hundred Acre Wine Group.
In the past few years, Jayson expanded his vineyard holdings and winemaking to include recently released Fortunate Son and Summer Dreams, the latter marking his return to Burgundian varieties.
More information:
https://www.kellyflemingwines.com/
https://www.hundredacre.com/
https://summerdreamswines.com/
https://fortunatesonwines.com/
