Hill Family Estate Napa Cabernet 2018

 Hill Family Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

We were invited over to son Alec and Vivianna's new home to watch March Madness, the Big Ten Basketball tournament as a lead up to the NCAA selection show.

As newlyweds, Alec and Vivianna visited Hill Family Estate during their forest fire shortened honeymoon in Napa a year ago September. They visited the new Hill Family Estate winery, located just minutes south of Yountville just off Ste Helena Highway 29, the western main artery of Napa Valley. They tasted this wine there and acquired it as part of their wine club allocation. 

Doug Hill founded Hill Family estate vineyards back in 1977 when he acquired his first vineyards. Since then, eleven different vineyard locations have been added to the Hill Family Estate portfolio, mostly in Napa Valley and its environs now covering more than 100 acres in numerous significant sub-appellations within Napa Valley.

For nearly four decades, the fruit was sold to the likes of Far Niente Winery, Silver Oak Cellars, Duckhorn Vineyards, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Caymus Vineyards, Cakebread Cellars and a host of other winery luminaries. Hill Family grapes were considered among the finest grown in the prestigious Napa Valley.

Around the turn of the century, Ryan and Carly Hill approached their father with the vision to establish the family winery with the family name on it. Hill Family Estate was born in 2001 with the first fruit that would become Hill Family Estate wines. A total of around 980 cases were produced and released in 2004. The new brand was immediately acclaimed and gained national prominence with numerous Awards and industry plaudits.

Hill Family Estate winemaker Alison Doran joined the team and crafted the inaugural 2001 vintage. Alison was introduced to Doug while he was growing grapes and she was making wine for Lewis Cellars, another one of our benchmark favorite producers, and the other estate visit tasting the kids attended during their shortened honeymoon. Alison developed her skill while being mentored by renowned wine expert Andre Tchelistcheff, completing a degree in winemaking at UC Davis and spending time in the legendary wine region of Alsace, France. Today, Doug and Alison work closely together selecting the highest quality grapes and producing ultra premium wines

Today, the Hill Family owns 120 acres of vineyards with properties on Atlas Peak, in Carneros, Oak Knoll and American Canyon. They are 100% family-farmed, family-owned and family-operated. Production ranges between 9,000 to 12,000 cases annually sourced from 12 different estate vineyards allowing them to select the highest quality fruit for their wines.  

The Hill Family portfolio has grown to over twenty five different labels across the broad range of varietals, blends, and single vineyard designated offerings.  

 

Hill Family Estate opened a tasting facility in downtown Yountville, directly down from the famous French Laundry Restaurant of Chef Thomas Keller and Keller’s Bouchon Restaurant, a classical French bistro also located in Yountville where Ryan Hill was formerly a sommelier. 

 

I wrote about Hill Family Estate and their wines in detail in a blogpost late the year before last and in follow on blogposts: Hill-Family Estate Origin Napa Valley Red 2016 and Hill Family Estate Origin Napa Valley Red 2018. 

We've had several Hill Family Estate wines with Alec and Vivianna and I believe this may have been the best label so far. 

We had one of their special limited release premium labels available to Hill Family Diamond Club members that Alec acquired as part of Alec's club allocation during Father's Day Grilled Steak Wine Dinner last year. 

 

Hill Family Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

I believe I liked this label release as well as the best of all those selections, meeting the same rating of their most expensive premium label selection with a similar tasting profile and experience. 

 

This release was blended from fruit from several Hill Family Napa Valley vineyard sources. The high elevation Baker Vineyard up on Atlas Peak at 1,200 ft. providing intense tannins and color, was blended with vineyards from the valley floor and cooler areas - Windy Flats on the western foothills in Wooden Valley, and Beau Terroir is in the Carneros foothills. Also included in the blend was fruit sourced from Beau Terre, Hansen, and Villagio vineyards on the valley floor. Added to the blend was some Malbec and Merlot to add complexity of aromas on the nose along with fruit and oak spice, and finally some Syrah to add density without astringency.

The winemakers's notes for this release: "The 2018 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon has aromas of black currant, black cherry, violets, vanilla and pie spice. The palate is rich, with flavors of blackberry, hazelnut, raspberry and mocha. This wine has tremendous viscosity for being so young and has a lot of room to grow and integrate all the flavors."

I found this dark inky purple garnet colored, full bodied with bold, full round complex expressive ripe black berry, raspberry and black currant fruits with a layer of soft sweet mocha, with notes of spice, floral and hints of cassis on a lingering tongue puckering tangy acidity silky tannin laced finish. 

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3881100

https://hillfamilyestate.com/product/2018-napa-valley-cabernet-sauvignon/ 

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Hill Family Estate Origin Napa Valley Red 2018

Hill Family Estate Origin Napa Valley Red 2018

Label image from 2016

Alec and Vivianna joined us for a quiet Christmas eve dinner. As newlyweds they visited Hill Family Estate during their forest fire shortened honeymoon in Napa in September year before last. They visited the new estate winery, located just minutes south of Yountville just off the highway. They tasted this label there and continue to acquire it as part of their wine club allocation.

I wrote extensively about The Hill Family, lead by patriarch and proprietor and fourth-generation farmer Doug Hill in a blogpost last year, ironically a year ago at a Christmas dinner when we had the 2016 vintage of this label. 

 

Hill Family Estate produced their first wines in 2001, a Merlot and this red blend called Origin.
 

Today, the Hill Family owns 120 acres of vineyards with a properties on Atlas Peak, in Carneros, Oak Knoll and American Canyon. They are 100% family-farmed, family-owned and family-operated. Production ranges between 9,000 to 12,000 cases annually sourced from 12 different estate vineyards allowing them to select the highest quality fruit for their wines. 

 

The Hill family began to select and plant their own vineyards in the 1980’s, using their intimate knowledge of the diversity of Napa Valley terroir - the range of microclimates, soil variations and the many subtle growing factors which influence the characteristics of the grape and the resulting quality of wine. They planted Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Albariño, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc in the Carneros appellation. They planted Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon in the Oak Knoll district, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah at 1,500 feet elevation near Atlas Peak; both areas with a perfect environment to develop the rich berry flavor and intense fruit color that make these red wines some of the best in the world.

 

Origin is their Bordeaux blend crafted from the vineyards that Doug Hill farms in the cooler areas of southern Napa.comprising Bordeaux varietals with some Syrah, sourced from Hill Family estate vineyards - Merlot at Beau Terroir in Carneros, and Beau Terre in Oak Knoll for structure and plushy fruit, Malbec from the Baker Vineyard has become a big part of the palate structure for Origin with its big color and lower tannins while the Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon adds dignity and structure while Petit Verdot adds texture to balance the Malbec. The Syrah adds depth and color and bold fruit that complements the Merlot. 

Ironically, Alec brought and we had this same label from the 2016 vintage last year at Christmas dinner. Tonight, this was rounder, fuller and brighter with its addition of Syrah, and anchor of predominant Merlot vs. the Cabernet.

 

Winemaker notes: The 2018 Origin has lovely aromas of ripe plum, black cherry and vanilla. The broad entry has a big mouthful of berry jam, and the palate is full bodied and smooth, expressing the plums and cherry while adding a hint of mocha on the very drinkable finish.

According to the Red Club Winter Allocation Release Mailer accompanying the shipment, this is a blend of 37% Merlot, 29% Malbec, 16% Syrah, 13% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, all from Napa Valley Appellation. 

Dark inky blackish purple colored, full bodied, bold full round complex concentrated structured but nicely integrated and balanced to be approachable, black berry, cherry and plum fruits with spicy cigar box, and hints of dark bitter mocha chocolate on a bright tangy big lingering finish.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3814124

https://www.hillfamilyestate.com/

@HFEWine