The Hill Family Barrel Blend Red Wine Napa Valley 2017
** short version. If you like lush, pedal-to-the-metal blends like The Prisoner, etc, and want something hella-better, hella-less, from NAPA no less, and with a totally gnarlier story...just…..go. If you had last year's Barrel, you are already dropping 6 or 12 in your cart. ‘Nuff said. **
BARRELS! Gnarly! French oak wine barrels! Less...HEART-POUNDING, maybe...but they do help make big, sexy, mouthcoating red blends like this from Hill Family round, sexy and hedonistic! What a price...if only we had more...
We grew up here in Napa with Ryan Hill (from a longtime Napa winegrowing and killer Cab producing family). We played sports with him, and, to our constant dismay, he got all the girls. Anyway, OF COURSE, cool dude that he is, he’s friends with pro surfer Kyle Knox, and this blend was made as a collaboration to celebrate both kinds of barrels. It was mostly for restaurants, so you are unlikely to find it, and certainly not priced like we have it!
Not for the shy, the ‘17 (Zinfandel, Syrah, Merlot, Malbec, Petit) continues in the tradition of the last you-kept-emailing-us-for-more 2016 --- dark, lush, creamy, drinking perfect TONIGHT, and wildly well-priced. Drink this with abandon, with unrestrained STOKE -- c’mon, at the price we got? Wicked. Dark black cherry essence, cassis, a bit of baked blueberry pie, not a heavy wine but packed with fruit and toasted holiday spices (think clove, vanilla, nutmeg…), and terrifyingly easy to sip with all of its roundness and balance. A massive crowd-pleaser that hits all the sweet spots. You saw that price???!
Channel your inner wine-drinking Spicoli (and with apologies to actual surfers everywhere for this entire email):
“Why don’t you get a job, Spicoli?”
“Huh huh...why?”
“‘Cause you need money.”
“Huh huh...all I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I’m fine….”
2017 BARREL! While it lasts!!
The 2017 Barrel Blend offers aromas of blueberry, red cherry, and some deeper black fruit as it opens up. The palate is soft and rich, with flavors of blueberry, black pepper, jammy blackberry and black cherry. While the finish is robust, it has friendly tannins and plushy textured fruit.
Technical Details
Country: United StatesRegion: California
Appellation: Napa Valley
Varietal: Red Blends
Winemaker: ALISON DORAN
Alcohol: 14.80%
About The Producer
The Hill family began to select and plant their own Napa vineyards in the 1980s, using their intimate knowledge of the multiple Napa Valley 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.
Known for its clay soils and cool climate, the Napa Valley vineyards in Carneros create perfect conditions to allow these varieties to develop their complex flavors. 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.
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