Lithology has been shaped by the same hands since the beginning. Alejandro Bulgheroni as the founder and visionary proprietor. Michel Rolland and Philippe Melka established the winemaking foundation from the first vintage in 2014. Matthew Sands joined in 2015 as Resident Winemaker and has managed every vintage since, his role deepening year by year, his voice increasingly central to the direction of the estate.

At the core of the collection is a flagship cuvée tributing the founder and crafted from the winery's most compelling barrels each vintage. The portfolio then focuses on three Beckstoffer single-vineyard Cabernets - To Kalon, Las Piedras, and Dr. Crane. Among the most storied and sought-after sites in Napa Valley, these vineyards have been part of the Lithology portfolio since the beginning. Vintage after vintage, these four wines remain the foundation and the benchmark. Precise and unmediated, a direct reading of each site's ancient soils, distinct microclimate, and topography. The vineyard leads. The winemaking follows. Depth, precision, character, and age ability - the very hallmarks of Lithology.

Sands describes the project in his own words: "Lithology is a collaboration, and I'm honored by the friendship, mentorship, and shared sense of pushing boundaries, in search of terroir purity and expression. That is truly the DNA of Lithology."

That spirit of collaboration extends to how the collection continues to grow and evolve. "We honor tradition, but we don't stay still. Something is always being tested at the winery — a new project, a small lot, a special vineyard, an unproven theory. Nimble and curious, we keep asking questions, and never stop learning." — Matt Sands, Winemaker and General Manager

What that means in practice: small-lot wines, released when they are ready. New vineyard sources, added when they are exceptional. Projects that begin as questions and become bottles. Some will be one-vintage experiments. Others may become part of the permanent collection. All of them will be worth paying attention to. The next chapter is already in the cellar.

The property that is Lithology Estate today was a portion of the original 1841 Carne Humana Rancho grant. This prolific land grant was foundational for the agricultural and social infrastructure for the northern portion of Napa Valley, centered around St. Helena. We thank the California State Archives for use of the original hand-drawn sketch map.

Over the following decades the land was divided, and in 1860 a 13-acre parcel was sold to the Howell family, notably to the prominent Napa blacksmith John Howell, for whom Howell Mountain is named.

Vines were first planted here in 1975 by Jim and Nina Talcott, who also constructed the stone winery that still stands on the property today. That winery later became the founding location of H. William Harlan's wine portfolio — the original home of Promontory Wine and the first vintages of The Napa Valley Reserve. 

Its stone walls had seen serious work. And with Lithology, that work would continue.