The drive in tells you everything before you've even arrived — a private road climbing through native oak and fir, past a small stone winery, before the forest opens onto 5.47 acres set high on Howell Mountain.
Inside the gates of Rancho La Jota, the residence was reimagined by Holder Parlette Architecture and built by Precision Builders. On the south side, glass meets glass at the corners, blurring exactly where the house ends and the mountain begins; vaulted cedar ceilings draw the eye up, and local Saint Helena cottage stone runs through the entry facade, the landscaping, and the interiors, tying the home to the ground it sits on. The finished home was featured in California Homes.
Las Posadas is not a single house but a private compound — five distinct dwellings woven into the forest, from the main residence to a pair of studio cabins and a light-filled retreat. Behind the gates, nothing interrupts the quiet: no road noise, no neighbor in view — only redwoods, fir, and the valley falling away below.
5.47AcresHowell Mountain
5Dwellingsacross the compound
8Bedroomstotal
10Bathstotal
6,933Square Feetacross five dwellings
The Compound
Five Dwellings, One Mountain Retreat
A rare offering on Howell Mountain: a main residence joined by a separate gate house, two freestanding studio pods, and a light-filled loft with its own sauna — eight bedrooms and ten baths in all, room for family, guests, and a working creative or wellness retreat, all within the forest.
Select any dwelling above to explore its full gallery. Below, the grounds — the heart of the property, and where any visit begins.
The Grounds · Where It Begins
The View, All to Yourself
Set high on Howell Mountain, above the fog line, the grounds open to a mirror-edge infinity pool, a covered stone outdoor kitchen, bocce, and terraced gardens that fall away toward the valley. Not another rooftop in sight — only forest, sky, and the long view down the valley, reflecting off the water at sunset. This is the heart of the property, and where any visit begins.
Infinity Pool
A mirror-edge pool set against the valley, with sunsets that reflect straight off the water.
Outdoor Kitchen
A covered stone kitchen and bar with seating for a crowd, under a cedar ceiling.
Terraced Stone Gardens
Saint Helena cottage stone terracing and native landscaping throughout the grounds.
The gates open onto one of Napa Valley's oldest names. In 1843, Mexican Governor Micheltorena granted this land — some 4,454 acres across Howell Mountain — to George C. Yount, the first American to settle the valley and the namesake of Yountville. La Jota traces to Jorge, the Spanish form of George; by 1847 Yount had raised a sawmill here, milling the timber that built the valley below.
The original diseño of Rancho La Jota — the 1843 survey of the grant, drawn by Jasper O'Farrell. Courtesy The Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley.
1898
The Stone Winery
In the 1880s the heart of the grant passed to Frederick Hess, a San Francisco publisher who set out vines on the plateau and, in 1898, raised a small stone winery whose wine took a bronze medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition. That cellar still stands just inside the gates as La Jota Vineyard Co. — the working winery you pass on the drive in.
1954
The Enclave Revealed
In 1954, Hess's grandson William T. Hess unveiled the plateau as a gated enclave — with landscape counsel from Thomas Church, the dean of California landscape architecture. Five-acre minimums, an architectural committee, and a controlled gate were written in from the start. Privacy, Hess declared, was the plan's most important asset — the reason it still feels a world away.
“The Enchanted Forest” — as the 1954 brochure named the property's stand of fir and pine.
The Front Page · 1954
Pictured on the Front Page
The house the St. Helena Star chose to feature was this one — then the Allsopp residence, a redwood contemporary offered at $69,500. Seventy years on, the enclave has matured exactly as drawn, and 1215 Las Posadas remains its quiet centerpiece.
The St. Helena Star, August 19, 1954 — the home at center is 1215 Las Posadas, then the residence of Col. and Mrs. C. B. Allsopp.
The house's original 1954 listing, the “327 Scenic Acres” brochure, and its hand-drawn location map.
Historical background drawn from public land-grant records, the St. Helena Star (August 19, 1954), original Previews Inc. brochures, and La Jota Vineyard Co.
Peace of Mind
Built for the Mountain
Living well on Howell Mountain means building for it. The compound was designed with resilience in mind — quietly, without compromising the setting.
Fire-Suppression System
A dedicated exterior fire-suppression system protects the structures and grounds.
Hardened Materials
Cement-board siding and standing-seam metal roofs — chosen for durability and resistance.
Fire Station at the Gate
The newly built Las Posadas CAL FIRE station — Napa County Station 30 — sits just outside the community's entrance.
The property-wide exterior fire-suppression system — copper supply lines and spray heads integrated discreetly beneath the eaves.Cement-board board-and-batten siding — the warmth of wood, chosen for durability and fire resistance.Standing-seam metal roofs across every dwelling — non-combustible, with integrated skylights.Board-formed concrete, stone, and gravel courtyards — a hardened, low-fuel landscape at every threshold.
Location & Access
Rancho La Jota, Howell Mountain
Angwin, California — roughly 15 minutes to St. Helena, 30 minutes to downtown Napa, and a world away from both.
For those who fly privately, Angwin's own Parrett Field sits on the mountain for light aircraft, with full-service jet facilities at Napa County Airport roughly forty minutes down-valley.
Three international gateways are within easy reach as well — Sacramento, Oakland, and San Francisco — plus commercial service from Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa.
