Perhaps the most surprising element about Napa Valley is the fact that it produces less than 5 percent of all the wine produced in California. Certainly its 14,000 hectares of vines would fit us eight times in the Bordeaux area and twice in Burgundy or Champagne-for all the noise it makes, it is actually very small, though more varied than one might imagine. The complexity of the soils in this area, for example, is extraordinary: to date, more than 150 different types of soils have been identified, mostly interspersed and stratified within a few meters. Generalizing, it can be said that the soils are thinner, older and less fertile on the valley slopes, while deep, fertile alluvial clays predominate on the valley floor. Deep but well-drained soils are also found on the foothills on each side of the valley. The cabernet sauvignon variety is the grape of the Napa Valley, and the best Cabs produced in this valley are unquestionably among the most successful in the world, for unparalleled opulence and exuberance, but also rigor in the finest examples.