Brave Oak Vineyard is located due east of Hearst Castle approximately 36 miles from the Pacific Ocean. Exactly 4 miles east of Bunny Slope Vineyard and 4 miles north of Highway 46 East this tiny 1.55-acre vineyard is named for a solitary grandfather coastal live oak braving the extreme weather over the last two centuries. This family owned vineyard is farmed by Tony Domingos, a young grower seeking to make a name for himself on the rolling plains of Paso Robles. Clos Mimi's block at Brave Oak is planted to the Estrella clone of Syrah on 1103P, a rootstock regarded for both its limestone and drought tolerance. These dark grayish brown, well drained and very calcareous soils are defined as "Nacimiento clay loam." These shale based soils are remarkable for their high pH weathered limestone subsoils. At 840 feet elevation Clos Mimi's block consists of a dozen 10' wide terraces with an impressive view to the north. Vertically trellised vines are planted a little over a meter apart resulting in 1922 vines per acre. In fact Brave Oak is the only lieu-dit which was developed with Clos Mimi's high vine density specifications of approximately 5000 vines per hectare (eg. 2000 vines per acre) prior to planting. Starting with the 2003 vintage Brave Oak Vineyard will produce 1500 bottles a year thanks to the vines yielding 2.5 tons per acre or less.