Hayman & Hill Russian River Chardonnay 2005
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Calls for a robust fish such as poached Atlantic salmon or more delicate meat dishes like grilled pork chops.
Other Vintages
2008-
Spirits
Wine &
This portfolio of fine wines speaks to their passion of making wines for a label worthy of their respective surnames, Hayman & Hill. David Hayman enjoys seventeen years of strong international winemaking experience. He spent five years overseeing production across eleven Hardys wineries throughout Australia, and currently serves as Blackstone Winery’s Senior Vice President of Operations, overseeing all California winemaking operations. Dennis Hill has over twenty five years of winemaking experience with many leading Sonoma wineries. In 1994, Dennis joined the Blackstone Winery and for the past nine years, has delivered a wine profile that strikes a chord with consumers. Dennis is the Chief Winemaker for the Blackstone Winery and works in Sonoma County.
The Hayman & Hill Winemaker’s Collection was released in October, 2003. It is comprised of a selection of reserve wines from best known appellations with individual selection numbers.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A standout region for its decidedly Californian take on Burgundian varieties, the Russian River Valley is named for the eponymous river that flows through it. While there are warm pockets of the AVA, it is mostly a cool-climate growing region thanks to breezes and fog from the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reign supreme in Russian River, with the best examples demonstrating a unique combination of richness and restraint. The cool weather makes Russian River an ideal AVA for sparkling wine production, utilizing the aforementioned varieties. Zinfandel also performs exceptionally well here. Within the Russian River Valley lie the smaller appellations of Chalk Hill and Green Valley. The former, farther from the ocean, is relatively warm, with a focus on red and white Bordeaux varieties. The latter is the coolest, foggiest parcel of the Russian River Valley and is responsible for outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.