Winemaker Notes
The Hill Family Estate Barrel Blend is put together with the help of Kyle Knox, a great surfer and a wine professional, who loved the idea of "being in the barrel" as both a wine term and a surfing term.
Aromas of deep black cherry and boysenberry fruit are underlaid by spicy vanilla flavored oak, along with supporting flavors of raspberry, plum, licorice, and chocolate. The wine has a well-constructed young palate, with fruit crammed into the structure to form an intense ripe boysenberry center.
Blend: 57% Malbec, 20% Merlot, 10% Petit Sirah 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Syrah
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.