Building a Legacy

The Pym-Rae Tesseron Estate is comprised of 640 rugged acres bordering Sugarloaf Ridge State Park high in the Mayacamas mountains. It was originally acquired by the late Robin Williams, who chose to conserve most of the expanse, develop the house and a few amenities, and, to fit in with his neighbors, plant a few acres of vines. Since the purchase of the property by the Tesseron family of Tesseron Cognac and Bordeaux’s Château Pontet-Canet, the estate now produces wines bottled as Pym-Rae in honor of the name Williams gave the land. 

Alfred Tesseron has had a long love affair with the US ever since a six-month apprenticeship in his 20s turned into a six-year stint selling wine across the country. “It was a dream,” he reminisces about that time, but in 1975, his father purchased Pontet-Canet and asked him to come home to help rebuild the estate. “As I got more involved, I became interested in the farming,” Tesseron recalls, after observing just how poor the soils had become in the post-war era, with its devotion to herbicides and pesticides. Over time, he championed both organic and biodynamic farming methods, now quite popular but at the time very radical. His work has “brought life back to the soils,” he attests, and the quality of the wines is proof: “we work well; it just takes time.”

The family began to consider investing in property outside of France, and Tesseron’s time in America – along with the fact that they specialize in Cabernet Sauvignon – ultimately led them to the Napa Valley. The guiding principles for what they sought were old vines and freshness, elements they believed were required to make something special and world-class. These ultimately led to Mt. Veeder, the closest mountain appellation to the San Pablo Bay in the southern part of the Mayacamas, and to Pym-Rae. The land spoke to Alfred, and almost a decade into their time in the mountains, it still does: “I love getting up before sunrise; it’s so unique, so pure.”

2016 was their first vintage, and the first major decision they made was to immediately stop irrigating the vines. Tesseron recalls: “When we switched the water off, everyone expected the vines to die, but they’re alive!” For the family, coming from Bordeaux where irrigation is not an option, it was very important to dry farm, even though that still seems radical in the Napa Valley. Their philosophy is to be as in tune with the nuances of the site and its soils as possible. This extends to the cellar where they built 40 small fermentation vessels, a huge amount for just 18.5 acres of vines. This level of precision may seem crazy, but in just one season they had a comprehensive understanding of the property. “Detail after detail,” he muses, “we try to improve the characteristic of the wine and have a real signature.” 

It's clear the two properties, one in Bordeaux and one in Napa, are in conversation with one another. There is an exchange of ideas and practices while respecting the needs of the individual environments. The goal is always to best capture what makes the properties unique, to make something special – the sum of the soils, the vines, and the place – over the greatest dimension time.