Hill-Family Estate Origin Napa Valley Red 2016

Another wine served during our gala family Christmas celebration dinner ...

Hill Family Estate Origin Napa Valley Red 2016

The newlyweds Alec and Vivianna visited Hill Family Estate during their forest fire shortened honeymoon in Napa in September. They visited the new estate winery, located just minutes south of Yountville just off the highway. They tasted this wine there and acquired it as part of their wine club allocation.

The Hill Family, lead by patriarch and proprietor and fourth-generation farmer Doug Hill, started producing their own branded portfolio of wines after four decades of farming grapes for some of the finest Napa Valley wineries.

Doug grew up in Healdsburg on the family farm. After earning a degree in Plant Sciences at Cal State Fresno and traveling some, Doug returned home to Sonoma County in 1978 where he learned the art of vineyard management while working at Sonoma-Cutrer. 

 

After settling in Yountville, Doug managed the extensive holdings of the Jaeger family before starting Oak Knoll Farming. Doug and Darci Hill settled down on an acre of land at the northern edge of Yountville in 1981 where they raised their family, Ryan who runs the sales division, and Carly who lives and works in San Diego and hosts tastings and dinners in Southern California.

Hill Family Estate produced their first wines in 2001, a Merlot and a 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.

 

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 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

 

Origin is their Bordeaux blend comprising all five Bordeaux varietals sourced from Hill Family estate vineyards - Cabernet Franc that Doug planted at the Beau Terrior Vineyard which had its first harvest in this release, hillside Merlot at Beau Terroir in Carneros, and Beau Terre in Oak Knoll for added structure and plushy fruit, Malbec, adds big color and lower tannins, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc add serious texture to balance the Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon adds 'dignity' to all blends.  

The composition of 2016 Origin is 55% Merlot, 18% Malbec, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, and 5% Cabernet Franc sourced from Carneros, Oak Knoll, Yountville and Atlas Peak Appellations.

 

Production was 960 cases.

 

The blend was aged in 68% new oak barrels aged for 16 months (of the new barrels, 61% French oak (Nadalier, Treuil Terroir, Orion, Tonnellerie O), and 7% American oak (Canton).

 

Winemaker Alison Doran’s tasting notes: "The 2016 Origin has lovely aromas of raspberry and roses. The broad entry has a big mouthful of berries and crunchy cherry. The ripe and intense mid-palate rolls into more sweet fruit –blueberry, red currant, and plum, with subtle tannins rounding out the finish.

This was a superb addition to our two big hitters, the premium Bordeaux and Napa Cab. 

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, bright vibrant black raspberry, currant and plum fruits with spice, oak and tangy acidity on a full tannin laced lingering finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3243704

https://www.hillfamilyestate.com/

@HFEWine

REDD Napa Valley Wine Pairing Tasting Dinner

REDD Napa Valley Wine Pairing Tasting Dinner

We dined at REDD in Yountville and had their Pric Fixe tasting dinner with wine pairing. While there
were six courses with six different wines, they prepared a different course with different wine pairings so we go to sample twice as many pairing selections!

REDD is the project of chef Richard Reddington, formerly of Masa’s and Jardiniere in San Francisco, and Auberge du Soleil in Napa Valley. His dishes feature an what he calls 'wine country cuisine' with influences from Asia, Europe, and Mexico. The atmosphere is contemporary elegant yet casual and relaxing, unpretentious for such sophisticated and serious cuisine. REDD is on Washington Street the main street in Yountville with an outdoor court, bar, the dining room and a semi-private dining room.



Our entree courses are pictured below:

Tuna Tartare

Sishimi Hemachi

Diver Scallops

Duck Confit

Alaskan Halibut

Pork Belly

NY Strip Steak

Lamb

http://reddnapavalley.com/

Rocca Family Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Rocca Family Vineyards Napa Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

As written in my blog earlier this week, after depleting my stock of the Marilyn Sauvignon Blonde, I stopped at Sav-Way Liquors in Hinsdale to pick up their remaining bottles. Based on the wines I was browsing, they suggested I try this Napa Cab, an unknown label which was a special buy, which according to them was on offer at half price, marked down from $80 to $40.

Upon further research, this is the product of emerging producer, vineyard proprietors, Mary Rocca and Eric Grigsby. Mary a cosmetic dentist, and Eric a nationally known pain management physician, are producing wines from two vineyard sites in lower Napa. I was not aware of this wine so we tried it tonight, after a Friday evening movie out, with a variety of cheeses, some leftover tenderloin steak from last weekend's wine and dine dinner, and fresh apple slices.

Rocca and Grigsby pursued their dream to produce world class wines when they purchased their first Napa Valley vineyard in 1999. They have the twenty-one acre Grigsby vineyard in Yountville, and the eleven acre Collinetta Vineyard located in Coombsville, Napa Valley's newest sub-appellation east of downtown Napa. Collinetta is Italian for “little hill,” named for the topology of the site. Mary now devotes her time to the vineyard project with winemaking duties tasked to consulting winemaker Paul Colantuoni.

The vineyards are planted in Bordeaux varietals centered on Cabernet Sauvignon, and some Syrah. Their early releases have earned them accolades as a top emerging Cabernet producer. The Grigsby Vineyard 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon came in #1 in a blind tasting of 12 Rising Star Cabernets at the Vintners Club tasting in the U.S. That wine was cited #1 from a group of 12 Cabernets shown in France's 12 Best Cabernets from California.

Watch for more from this producer as they increase production over the next couple years. Rocca release only about a third of their fruit under their own label, selling the rest to other Napa producers.  For the 2009 vintage, their production was 2,200 cases across a portfolio of six wines. That output is expected to increase to 5,000 cases by 2019.

This was dark blackish Ruby colored, full bodied, complex dark berry fruits that were overtaken by smoky creosote and tree bark flavors, with layers of spicy oak, expresso, and hints of dark chocolate with full tannins on a lingering finish. The seven reviews on Cellartracker are unanimous with a 92 point score. I ranked it a slighty lower 91 points due to the fruit being overtaken by the smokey tar non fruit flavors. It will be interesting to see how this is tomorrow, and to see if the fruit emerges in a couple more years as it settles down and balances out.

According to the producer, this is sourced from Estate vineyards, 95% Yountville and 5% from their Hillside Vineyard.

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=693671 

http://www.roccawines.com/

Yountville Woodinville Reds For Family Dinner

Yountville Woodinville Reds For Family Celebration Dinner

Celebrating son-in-law Johnny's birthday, the family assembled for a gala dinner. Daughter Erin prepared lasagna so son Ryan and I brought two reds, two Bordeaux varietals from diverse regions. From Yountville, a 'lesser appellation' of Napa I brought a Ninety Plus Cellars Yountville Cabernet Sauvignon. From Woodinville, Washington, the tony Seattle suburb that is home to legendary Chateau St Michelle, Ryan brought 'D2' from DeLille Cellars, named for the famous Bordeaux arterial highway that extends from Bordeaux city along the southern bank of the Gironde through the regions famous appellations to the west.

The town of Woodinville lies about 20 road-miles northeast of downtown Seattle and has become a wine-tourism destination. It all started with Chateau Ste. Michelle, opened in 1976, and has grown to over fifty wineries. It is also home to other notable producers such as Betz Family Cellars, Matthews Estate, Columbia Winery, and upcoming boutique producers such as Mark Ryan and Ross Andrew.

But unlike Napa, center to the nation's most famous wine growing region, the grapes are grown elsewhere, in the Columbia Valley and other wine growing areas a hundred miles or more to the east in eastern and central Washington. We visited Woodinville during our Washington Wine Tour back in 1998. Our cellar, while predominantly Napa and Bordeaux, followed by Australia, holds more than ten cases from Washington producers including Abeja, Andrew Will, Matthews, Dunham, Woodward Canyon, Spring Valley and Quilceda Creek.

Like many other Woodinville producers, DeLille Cellars make their wines in Woodinville from grapes grown in a number of eastern Washington appellations (AVAs - American Viticultural Areas). DeLille have operated since the early nineties and are one of the more notable producers. They have branding under two different labels: Doyenne for Rhone-styled blends, and Chaleur Estate for their Bordeaux blends and Cabernet Sauvignon releases. DeLille were nominated for Winery of the Year in 2014.


DeLille Cellars "D2" Columbia Valley Washington Red Blend 2011

Delille’s 'D2' is billed as the second wine of their Chaleur Estate blend and is a classic Bordeaux blend of Merlot 56.5%, Cabernet Sauvignon 35%, Cabernet Franc 6.5%, and Petit Verdot 2%.

The winemakers review says "A layered vintage of D2 expressing a fruit-driven nose of blueberries, cassis, and cherries along with lavender, cigar wrappers, toasted vanilla, crushed stones and pencil shavings. The flavors have a harmonious combination of red and black fruits with blackberries and cherries leading the profile. The majority of characters, however, are all about spices:  fennel, white pepper, Herbs de Province, cinnamon, graham and a touch of menthol. Definitely a complex D2 that is delicious, savory and balanced."

I certainly picked up the blue berry fruits, tones of cassis, tobacco and pencil. It was dark inky garnet with tones of purple, medium bodied, complex and concentrated with predominant black berry fruits and a hint on the back pallette of what the producer referred to as fennel, a particular flavor I find unfortunate in the profile. This likely will improve with some time.

RM 90 points. Robert Parker gave this wine 93 points.

This profile, review and rating is consistent with my earlier experiences and memories of  this wine.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1577586

http://www.delillecellars.com




Ninety Plus Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Lot 109 Yountville 2012

Napa wine aficionados recognize Yountville as one of the Napa Valley sub-appellations or AVA's (American  Viticultural Area), named for founder George Yount, who settled the area and planted the first vineyards in the Napa Valley in 1836. Today, the area is also known as NapaNook. Yountville is one of Napa Valley's lesser known appellations despite the fact that 4000 of its geographic 8000 acres are planted in vines. Unlike its more famous neighbor Rutherford, with it's famed 'dusty reds', or adjacent Stag's Leap and it's "velvet fisted" cabs, Yountville lacks a distinctive label for its patchwork combination of soils and climates that are a bit antithetical to the concept of terroir. 

Yountville possesses a unique combination of distinctive soil characteristics with volcanic soils to the east that are similar to the neighboring Stags Leap District, and centuries old coastal deposits with both sedimentary and alluvial soils to the west, interspersed with sandy and gravelly loam. No other area in  Napa Valley boasts this particular geomorphic combination. Indeed, very different soils are found in the areas immediately surrounding Yountville in Oakville, Stags Leap, Mt. Veeder, and Oak Knoll districts, hence its AVA designation.

According to the Yountville AVA site, climatically, historical record keeping and modern weather gathering techniques indicate that cool marine air currents from San Pablo Bay to the south, are trapped when they reach what are known as the Yountville Mounts, keeping natural "air conditioning" working even on the warmest summer days. These milder temperatures allow the grapes of the region plenty of time to develop unique flavor characteristics, demonstrate the local "terroir."

Based on its unique soil and climatological data, Yountville was granted Appellation status in 1999, and was one of the last Napa Valley sub appellations to be officially recognized. As with all AVAs, a minimum of 85% Yountville grapes must be used in the bottle to have the Yountville AVA cited on the label.

We've talked about Ninety Plus Cellars numerous times in this blog and their negociant model of buying excess or set-aside product from growers or producers, and releasing it under their private label.  They cite the 'source price' for this wine at $45 and are releasing it for $18. I can imagine it being offered under the source label at the $45 price and being considered over-priced or underwhelming at that pricepoint. Perhaps that is why the producer sold it to be marketed under a different label. However, it may prove to be a great buy and offer tremendous QPR (quality price ratio) at the under twenty dollar price point. I bought it for $18 and another local retailer is currently offering this at $16. At that price I'd suggest buying it for a complex sophisticated every day wine that may evolve into a really good wine. With 2000 cases produced, this should be generally available. Notably, since its a negociant offer private label, its a one of a kind, not likely to be repeated, so enjoy it while you can.

This was dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied, big floral aromas, complex with dense rich black berry, tones of black cherry and sweet spice, hints of cassis and creosote with a layer of firm but approachable tannins on a long lingering finish. It lacked polish and was a bit forward and needs time and we no doubt drank it too early. It also needs time to open and breath and should be decanted and allowed time to open. The next morning it was much smoother and more approachable.

RM 88 points upon opening, 90 points the next day after settling.
 
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1845865

Lobster Tail dinner and Catherine & Pascal Rollet Domaine de la Chapelle Pouilly-Fuissé Vieilles Vignes 2007 and Liparita Napa Valley Yountville Chardonnay 2006.

Catherine & Pascal Rollet Domaine de la Chapelle Pouilly-Fuissé Vieilles Vignes 2007 and Liparita Napa Valley Yountville 2006 and Liparita Napa Valley Yountville 2006.

For our lobster tail dinner we served Catherine & Pascal Rollet Domaine de la Chapelle 2007 from Pouilly-Fuissé Vieilles Vignes Burgundy and Liparita Napa Valley Yountville Chardonnay 2006. 

Linda preferred the lighter, citrus forward, non-oaked French Burgundian Chardonnay while I preferred the fuller, sweet oak, caramel and nut laced Napa Chardonnay. 

Pouilly-Fuissé is the appellation in the Maconnais region in southern Burgundy known for most renowned  white wines produced exclusively from Chardonnay grapes grown in the communes of Chaintre, Fuisse, Solutre-Pouilly and Vergisson.

The Pouilly-Fuissé appellation officially dates back to 1936 although the boundaries were drawn up as early as 1922. It covers around 2000 acres (800ha) of hillside vineyards, planted on limestone-rich clay soil atop a granitic base. The 1600 foot (500-m) limestone escarpment known as the Roche de Solutre is located at the heart of the appellation's vine-growing area and towers over the vineyards below.

The Pouilly-Fuissé title on a wine label may be completed by the name of the specific vineyard where the grapes were grown. The most commonly cited are La Roche, Les Vignes Blanches, Aux Chailloux and Les Crays. There is no Premier Cru system within the appellation, so quality is indicated through the reputations of producers and their vineyards.

Pouilly-Fuissé wines are typically full-bodied, ripe and relatively elegant, with the best examples rivaling the finer wines of the Cote de Beaune.

Light-medium bodied, straw colored, the nose is full and forward with lemon and grapefruit;.flavors of toasty pear and tropical fruits are accented with hints of caramel apple and toffee, with a mineral-driven long, lemon-scented finish.

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=688118

Liparita Napa Valley Yountville Chardonnay 2006

Butter colored, medium bodied, sweet oak, sweet nut and pear flavors laced with a layer of caramel and hint of vanilla on a tangy finish.  


RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=769185