Lail Vineyards

Lail Vineyards is a wine producer in the Napa Valley that was founded by Robin Lail in 1995. It makes wines from two vineyards in Howell Mountain and Yountville, most famously from the classic Napa variety Cabernet Sauvignon.

The estate was founded in 1995 by Robin Lail, whose father, John Daniel Jr, had been the proprietor of the famous Inglenook estate in Rutherford. During the 1970s and 1980s, Lail help co-found both Dominus Estate and Merryvale Vineyards, before setting up her eponymous label.

Mole Hill and Totem are Lail's main vineyards, located in Howell Mountain and Yountville, respectively. Mole Hill covers 1.2 hectares (3 acres) on a west-facing vineyard on loam soils at an elevation of 1700ft (520m) above sea level. The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from this vineyard form the basis of the estate's flagship J. Daniel Cuvée wine ‒ named for John Daniel Jr – and its single vineyard Mole Hill Cabernet Sauvignon. Both Cabernet Sauvignon wines see approximately 20 months in new French oak.

The Totem vineyard is located on a section of the inaugural Inglenook vineyard in northern Yountville. It covers a single hectare (2.5 acres) and is planted to Sauvignon Blanc, providing the grapes for the Georgia Sauvignon Blanc. This wine is fermented and aged for 18 months in new French oak and is named after Georgia Eileen Dixon, Robin Lail's granddaughter.

On top of these wines, Lail Vineyards has a more value-driven range called Blueprint, consisting of a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Sauvignon Blanc. Grapes for these are sourced from vineyards around Napa Valley.