2019 Hill Family Estate Red Wine The Barrel Blend Napa Valley 750 ml

Doug Hill grows some of the best Merlot in the world on his 120 acres in Napa Valley. World-class producers like Duckhorn, Quintessa, David Ramey, and Caymus rely on his pristine grapes to make their wines the collectors’ items they’ve become. 

The 2019 Hill Family Estate The Barrel Blend Red Wine is a fantastic way to experience that magic, and you won’t find it on the Hill Family website: The Barrel is what insiders call an “under the counter” pour: a bargain bottle that a winery keeps under wraps so it won’t block sales of their $100+ wines.

Built on 41% Merlot, seamlessly integrated with Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and more, this bottle consists of all estate fruit grown primarily on the Beau Terre Vineyard in Oak Knoll. Ryan Hill, the fourth generation of the Hill family to be involved in California agriculture, explained that this particular plot of land is unique in the appellation: 

A long time ago, a stream running down from the nearby Vaca Mountains cut a swath through it, depositing rocks and smaller stones from the hillsides. Today, Beau Terre is a valley-floor vineyard with terroir and drainage more typical of hillside land. The grapes that grow there develop in tiny clusters, and have a skin-to-pulp ratio that guarantees intense concentration, color, and depth.

The final blend spent ten months in French oak barrels, only 13% of them new, which has lent it a sense of silkiness alongside its inherent power, plus a subtle note of baking spice that will gain greater complexity with extended cellaring—though it’s already delicious. No matter when you partake, you’ll find this wine VERY hard to stop sipping.