William Hill Napa Valley Chardonnay (375ML half-bottle) 2018
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Wilfred
Wong
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 William Hill Napa Valley Chardonnay drinks well and stays long on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine builds its flavors of ripe apple, light earthy notes, and oak from start to finish. Enjoy it with a rotisserie game hen. (Tasted: October 12, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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For nearly 40 years, William Hill Estate Winery has crafted rich and expressive Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and other Bordeaux varietal wines from select vineyards in Napa Valley and the California coast. The collection of wines are rooted in the character of the unique, rolling hills of the 200-acre estate in the heart of the Silverado Bench in Napa Valley, crafted through the vision of winemaker Mark Williams, thoughtful vineyard planning and meticulous attention in the cellar.
Experience William Hill Estate Winery in the tasting room and discover another side of Napa Valley. A place where extraordinary vineyards are tucked away along the serene Silverado Trail, a place where you can still discover an incredible wine for the first time, a Napa Valley that is off the beaten path.
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.
One of the world's most highly regarded regions for wine production as well as tourism, the Napa Valley was responsible for bringing worldwide recognition to California winemaking. In the 1960s, a few key wine families settled the area and hedged their bets on the valley's world-class winemaking potential—and they were right.
The Napa wine industry really took off in the 1980s, when producers scooped up vineyard lands and planted vines throughout the county. A number of wineries emerged, and today Napa is home to hundreds of producers ranging from boutique to corporate. Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely the grape of choice here, with many winemakers also focusing on Bordeaux blends. White wines from Napa Valley are usually Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that claim specific wine characteristics based on situation, slope and soil. Farthest south and coolest from the influence of the San Pablo Bay is Carneros, followed by Coombsville to its northeast and then Yountville, Oakville and Rutherford. Above those are the warm St. Helena and the valley's newest and hottest AVA, Calistoga. These areas follow the valley floor and are known generally for creating rich, dense, complex and smooth red wines with good aging potential. The mountain sub appellations, nestled on the slopes overlooking the valley AVAs, include Stags Leap District, Atlas Peak, Chiles Valley (farther east), Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain District and Diamond Mountain District. Napa Valley wines from the mountain regions are often more structured and firm, benefiting from a lot of time in the bottle to evolve and soften.