Parmelee-Hill Wines & Vineyards

Ned Hill and his father Steve own and run one of the most respected vineyards and vineyard management teams in the Sonoma Valley. They farm their own 55-acre parcel, as well as the famed Durrell Vineyard. In all, the Hills supply grapes to over 30 wineries. Since these guys are the masters of growing, they have afforded themselves with their own working “science project,” which in this case is an incredible experimental Syrah. Some of the experiments that Ned illustrated included extreme leaf pulling and one cluster per chute pruning.

Extreme leaf pulling allows more sunlight to shine on the grapes. This creates tougher grape skins and increases acidity and tannins. The risk here is too much sun, which causes sunburn. One-cluster-per-chute means that they prune the vines to produce less fruit. The subsequent fruit has much more intense flavor. The downside, obviously, is that they get far less fruit.

“Both experiments worked,” relayed Ned. “If they didn’t, fine. We’d move on. The whole point is to learn to be better farmers.” In addition to the procedures above, the Hills experiment with aerial photographs, irrigation, one-bud spurs for smaller clusters, and alternative picking tactics.

So, they have a depth of background in farming, and they are using the best-of-the-best fruit for their limited production Syrah. What about the winemaking? Enter Don Van Staavren, former winemaker at Chateau St. Jean and Artesa. Don is the winemaker for Three Sticks Winery, and Parmelee-Hill has their wine made there. Ned Hill is so focused on farming that it’s difficult for him to talk about the Parmelee-Hill wines for more than a few moments before the conversation goes back to the vineyard. And he doesn’t need to talk much, the wine does that for him.

This wine shows lovely aromas of flowers, peppermint and spice, which together deliver a soothing effect. Well-integrated and concentrated flavors of ripe black fruit and coffee give way to subtle spice, eucalyptus and cola. This wine is very long and complex. To my taste, it has a beautiful and subtle feminine quality to it. At $40, it leans toward the expensive end of the scale, but, dang! This is one very tasty Syrah!

Reviewed June 11, 2007 by Bradley Gray.