Marc Gagnon: A Winemaker's Tribute to Napa's Legendary Vineyards
Marc Gagnon welcomed me at the top of Caldwell Vineyards in Coombsville to taste his new 2023 Cabernets. He is a wealth of knowledge, especially as it pertains to the history and landscape of Napa Valley, which is why we wanted to meet atop the vineyard instead of inside the cellar. I had planned on shooting some videos for my site and social media, but before I could get anything set up, he immediately dove into an overview of the soil types of Southern Napa, explaining that we were in a caldera, or the bowl of an ancient volcano. I had to stop him to set up the camera and microphones, to which Marc responded, “So what, you just want me to start over?”... Yes, Marc, we do.
Marc is ready to share his knowledge at any given time, whether you are ready or not.
Once everything was finally set up, we spent time talking about the different soils across Napa Valley, the changing flora as you travel north, and the drastic elevation changes across the valley. Marc has been working in Napa since the early 2000s and has been dedicating himself to the study of his surroundings ever since. After some time in the vineyards, we made our way into the historic cellars of Caldwell Vineyards, where Marc is the winemaker and where he makes his own wines. His personal labels are dedicated to different aspects of his continued search for knowledge and are something of a personal research project.
A Journey to Napa's Elite
While Marc is successfully hitting his stride, using years of experience to provide the best of what Napa can offer, it took him a lot of dedication and hard work to get there. When I asked Marc about his history in the wine industry, he replied, “I got very lucky, that’s for sure.” While luck may have played a hand in it, his dedication and vision are what truly got him where he is. He mentioned he wanted to be a winemaker from the age of 11, despite having no family history in the wine industry.
Marc went to Santa Clara University, despite being accepted to UC Davis and knowing he would want to become a winemaker. He began working in wine in the early 2000s, starting all the way at the bottom by scrubbing floors and sleeping in his car. He worked at Testarossa for a while but then moved to Davis with his then-girlfriend, who was studying law. He got a position at a commercial winery in Lodi where he learned much of the technical side of winemaking and also began his master's program at Davis.
Marc began his journey in Napa with Round Pond Estate, and then got his big break at just 26 years old when he was hired by Screaming Eagle as the assistant winemaker, a position he held for three years. In 2012, he accepted a position as the head winemaker of Bryant Family, where he stayed until 2017. Under his winemaking, Bryant achieved its first 100-point wine since Helen Turley's 1997 vintage. This is where Marc and Michael’s relationship began, and once Marc’s contract was up, he moved on to finally begin his own labels under the Fraiche Wine Group.
The Fraiche Wine Group
The Fraiche Wine Group is a collaborative group of wineries spearheaded by Michael Kennedy, an accomplished sommelier, to work with top winemakers like Marc Gagnon to curate a portfolio of high-quality projects. While the group is led by Marc and Michael, each project has its own set of owners, investors, and in some cases, winemakers.
Component Wine Company
This is the brand that launched it all, started by Michael and his wife. The goal is to create 100% single-varietal wines to showcase the ‘components’ in famous blends, such as Petit Verdot from a Bordeaux blend. Michael was visiting Marc when he was working as a winemaker at Bryant Family when Marc decided to blind-taste him on a tank of Petit Verdot. When Michael finally asked Marc what the wine was, Marc said, “It’s Petit Verdot, a component we haven’t found a use for yet.” The idea was formed then and there, although Marc would not officially join for a few more years.
SOM Wines
SOM, or 'State of Mind,' was formed in 2016 as a true collaboration between Marc, Michael, and other influential people in their careers—mostly winemakers and sommeliers who all have an equal say in the winemaking style. These wines are based out of Oregon and Washington, with the flagship Pinot and Chardonnay coming from the Larry Stone Vineyard in collaboration with Larry as well as his winemaker, Thomas Savre. This will always continue to be an open-ended project, with recent additions of Chardonnay and Pinot from Eola Springs as well as some zippy Riesling and Sauvignon Blancs.
Gagnon-Kennedy
Gagnon-Kennedy is the flagship brand and the main focus of this article. This label was formalized after Marc left Bryant Family, and it is dedicated to exploring and expressing the terroir of some of Napa’s most historic vineyards, with a specific focus on sites that were originally planted before the 1900s. These wines represent the pinnacle of Napa Valley Cabernet expressed from some of the most historic vineyards in the region. An ode to the region that shaped Marc’s winemaking, and the culmination of all his experiences along the way.
La Caccia di San Giovanni
The most recent addition is La Caccia in Tuscany, where Marc and Michael serve as managing partners producing some beautiful Super Tuscans.
Along with these properties, there is also a growing hospitality wing to Marc and Michael's company. They recently launched the Yount Leap Estate, a beautiful property in Yountville focused on elevated experiences and hosting wine buyers and guests from around the world.
A few shots from the new Yount Leap Estate available for guests just off the historic Silverado Trail in Yountville.
Napa's Historic Vineyards
While based at Caldwell Vineyards, the Gagnon-Kennedy label focuses on single-vineyard wines from some of the most historic sites in Napa Valley. Each vineyard has its own distinct history and terroir, making the Gagnon-Kennedy lineup a true deep dive into Napa Valley’s diverse soils.
View of Caldwell Vineyard in Coombsville, southern Napa, looking north up the valley.
Caldwell Vineyard
This is where the California winemaking is based, as Marc is also the winemaker at Caldwell Vineyards and Winery while building out his own brands. John Caldwell originally purchased this property in 1979, and the first vines were planted in 1981. For the first 20 years, John just sold grapes while slowly establishing this historic vineyard, famously using 'smuggled' clones from France. He began building out his cellars and winemaking facility in 2001, finishing in 2005. The cellars are cut into the extremely compacted tuffaic ash. John has always been a welcome incubator for new winemakers, and many now-famous producers got their start in his cellars using them as a custom-crush facility. The vineyard itself sits in the cool Coombsville district, inside an ancient caldera, a half-bowl formation from a long-extinct volcano. This amphitheater collects cool air from the San Pablo Bay and sits on a gentle northwest slope toward Mt. St. Helena. The soils here are a range of iron-rich topsoil over solid tuffaic ash. The farming here is technically "conventional" now, but only after having tried organic and biodynamic methods for over 35 years. The team now uses a blend of that knowledge to do what is best for the vineyard's specific cold and wet conditions.
Samuel Brannan Vineyard
The Samuel Brannan vineyard is a historical vineyard in Calistoga at the base of the Palisades in Northern Napa. Samuel Brannan was a prominent figure in the early California Gold Rush and became California’s first millionaire. He founded the town of Calistoga as the "Saratoga of California" with its rich hot springs. He helped found the Napa Railroad and also planted the very first vines in Calistoga in 1862. The vineyard itself is currently planted from clippings off John Caldwell’s vineyard and sits on gravelly loam with clay at the bottom. Wines from the Samuel Brannan vineyard can produce highly classic, powerful Napa Cabs.
Missouri Hopper
The Missouri Hopper vineyard was originally purchased by her father from George Yount, the founder of Yountville. He gifted the vineyard to his daughter in 1877, and the land was planted with wine grapes, prunes, and walnuts. The land was eventually purchased by the famed farming family, the Beckstoffers. The vineyard is located in Western Oakville and is now planted exclusively to Cabernet Sauvignon, producing a classic herbaceous Napa Cabernet.
Old Federal Block
The Old Federal block of To-Kalon can no longer bear the name ‘To-Kalon’ due to a legal battle between the Beckstoffers and Constellation. However, it has plenty of history and pedigree without the name. This was originally planted in the 1880s by Hamilton W. Crabb, who used the vineyard as a research site, planting over 300 different varieties. When he passed away, he left the vineyard to the U.S. government with the caveat that it had to continue to be used as a research vineyard. The government then gifted it to UC Davis and, coincidentally, it is the vineyard where Marc Gagnon did his research project as part of his master's degree. The vineyard itself sits among some of the most famous names and richest wines in Napa, however, the soil here is mostly gravel and clay with little loam, which helps keep a restrained character in its wines.
Beckstoffer Georges III
A portion of the vineyard was first planted in 1895 by Mrs. Thomas Rutherford. In 1928, Beaulieu founder Georges de Latour acquired the 300-acre parcel and named it Beaulieu Vineyard #3. Under the direction of renowned winemaker Andre Tchelistcheff, the vineyard became famous in the 1960s and 70s for its Rutherford Cabernets. Beckstoffer Vineyards purchased the property in 1988 and replanted it with new Cabernet Sauvignon clones. Located on the Rutherford Bench, the vineyard's soils are relatively deep and productive, with good water-holding capacity. They are described as a combination of loam, silt loam, clay, and gravelly loam. The site is renowned for its famous ‘Rutherford Dust’ profile of fine, dusty tannins and an earthy, savory, and mineral component.
Monte Rosso
Originally known as Mount Pisgah, the vineyard was founded in the early 1880s by Emmanuel Goldstein and Benjamin Dreyfus. The first vines, including Zinfandel and Semillon, were planted in 1886. In 1938, the vineyard was sold to Louis M. Martini, who renamed it Monte Rosso, meaning "red mountain," after its distinctive soil. Martini planted the first Cabernet vines in 1940. The Martini family continued to farm the vineyard until E. & J. Gallo Winery acquired it in 2002. The vineyard is known for its homogenous, iron-rich, red volcanic soils, often referred to as Red Hill Loam. The well-drained, ashy soil forces the vine roots to dig deep in search of water, which results in concentrated and complex flavors in the grapes.
Marc and Michael, along with their extended team now make beautifully expressive single vineyard wines from each of the vineyards above, as well as sourcing from these vineyards and others to put together their flagship blend - Gagnon-Kennedy Napa Valley Cuvee. To learn more about the individual wines as well as technical information and tasting notes, check out my overview of the entire lineup.
For pricing information reach out to me directly at Brett@Brettswines.com or fill out the contact form Here
For more information please check out the following links - Massanois, Fraiche Wine group
