Hill Family Estate 2017 Double Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon Release
Feb 19, 2021
Targeted primarily toward a discerning collector audience, Hill Family Estate offers its premium limited edition 2017 Double Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Double Barrel designation represents an exclusive, small blend created from Hill Family Estate’s most serious Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from each vintage. This beautiful wine is a product of the decades-long growing experience of Doug Hill, the family patriarch, the noted skills of Alison Doran, Winemaker, and the creativity and marketing of Proprietor Ryan Hill.
The official release date for the 2017 Double Barrel Edition will be February 23, 2021. Buyers will be able to purchase individual bottle quantities or the exceptional 3-bottle selection.
Composition of the 2017 Double Barrel Blend
Alison Doran, the long-time winemaker for Hill Family Estate Winery, balanced the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes with other varieties’ subtle impact to create a wine with beautifully-integrated and complex fruit flavors and muscular tannins.
This Cabernet blend consists of:
Cabernet Sauvignon 82%
Malbec 13%
Syrah 3%
Merlot 1%
Petit Verdot 1%
The highest-grade Cabernet Sauvignon from Windy Flats and Baker Vineyards is the foundation of this outstanding wine. Doran then blended the elegance of Merlot from the cooler Carneros growing area with measured quantities of Malbec, Syrah, and Petit Verdot for flavor and structure enhancement.
After blending, the new wine was held in new Redmond Alliers French Oak barrels for twenty months before bottling on August 28, 2019. These beautiful barrels impart subtle yet positive characteristics of complexity and longevity to the wine’s structure.
For alcohol content, pH, and total acidity, the 2017 Double Barrel Cabernet at release consists of:
4 % alcohol
82 pH
1 TA
The release price for this excellent wine is $165.00 per bottle.
With the real potential to be a top-rated star in any collector’s cellar, Hill Family Estate’s 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon has been designated 93 Points by Robert Parker, renowned wine critic and publisher of the highly respected publication, The Wine Advocate.
The intense charm and flavorful elegance of the 2017 Double Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon will continue to improve over the next 10-15 years, although it will approach an exceptional drinking window around 3-5 years after release.
Should you wish to open the wine sooner, Hill Family Estate recommends decanting the wine for two to three hours before drinking.
Our Special Three-Bottle Selection
To underscore the Double Barrel designation of this remarkable vintage, the three-bottle wooden box selection will have special markings created by Ryan Hill’s antique double-barrel shotgun. Creatively, and somewhat whimsically, Hill “peppers” each case with #6 shot from a distance of about 60 yards.
These beautiful and specially “marked” 3-bottle selections will also include an expended shotgun shell and a special letter from Ryan regarding the wine.
Alison Doran’s Tasting Notes
The award-winning winemaker at Hill Family Estate Winery, Alison Doran, presents her Tasting Notes for the 2017 Double Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon as follows:
“The 2017 Double Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon offers deep aromas of blackberry, chocolate and toasted hazelnuts. Mouthwatering plum and blackberry flavors follow all the way through to the end. Layers of toasted oak are well integrated, adding structure and support to the ripe fruit flavors and muscular tannins.”
Visiting Hill Family Estate
One of the best wineries to visit in Napa Valley, Yountville-based Hill Family Estate Winery offers a beautifully curated wine tasting experience at their Tasting Room in downtown Yountville. The experience includes a fun and informative wine tasting conducted by one of the Hill Family experts.
Guests visiting the Tasting Room will learn about the winemaking process, tasting protocols, and food pairings while also having an opportunity to purchase some of the Hill Family Estate wines.
For more information regarding wine tasting sessions with one of the most important Yountville wineries, call ahead to Hill Family Estate for reservations. You may contact the Tasting Room directly at 1-707-944-9580, Extension 1.
