Hourglass is a story of place: the narrative of two dramatic sites and the people destined to create extraordinary wines.
The Hourglass winery is an example of when the planets alien perfectly. It rarely ever happens where people come together with a similar goal, passion and commitment to handcraft the best wines possible with the understanding everyone plays a very important equal part. Jeff Smith founder/owner has developed a unique program that has brought on Toni Biagi one of Californias iconic winemakers to craft wines that just blow your mind and palate with such depth, elegance and substance. To me every one of the wines produced have earned a spot in top collectors wine racks and espically on their nightly dinner table to share with friends and family.
History:
HOURGLASS VINEYARD: Ned Smith was a visionary and a storyteller. These irrefutable qualities made him a highly successful ad man in San Francisco. They are also what compelled him to cash out of city life, pack up his family of seven, and follow a dream that led him to the remote Napa Valley of 1964. Ned became a real estate agent, only the second to set up shop in the valley. He was a natural, a man who could scan a fallow parcel and envision for his clients the vineyards and winery yet to come. Over the next decade, he introduced many aspiring Napa vintners, such as Jack & Jamie Davies (Schramsberg), Dick Graace (Grace Family Vineyards), and Carl Doumani (Stag's Leap) to the estates that would become the iconic wineries of today. There was one particular six-acre property two miles north of St. Helena that captured Ned’s imagination in 1976. Where an outcropping of the Maycamas mountains jutted eastward, the Napa Valley floor was pinched to a near figure eight, and this unclaimed knoll of hillside lay precisely in the narrowest point. Over the past decade, Ned had developed an uncanny intuition about land. He knew at once that this lot, nestled in the crux of the hourglass-shaped valley, was something special. He wouldn’t share it with his aspiring vintner clients; this parcel would be his.
Jeff Smith inherited his father’s natural sense of vision. The risk taking, that was a quality Ned instilled in him—to venture outside the box, follow his vision and embrace failures as learnings. After growing up among the family farms and cellars of Napa Valley, Jeff took his father’s advice, followed his passion and headed to San Francisco to play guitar in a rock band. When Jeff got the call from Marge that it was time to sell the family’s phylloxera-ridden vineyard, he had an unshakable feeling their land was far too valuable to let go. Jeff heard the reservation in his mother’s voice, but knew the land was worth saving.
Today the team at Hourglass headed by Jeff Smith have continued his dad’s vison and dream!
Featured Wine: 2021 HGIII Red Blend
Vineyard: Declassified Blueline Estate, plus contracted grapes from select vineyards
Appelation: Napa Valley
Varietals: Merlot, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon
Aging: 16 months, combination of new and seasoned French oak
Blending Notes:
HG III is Tony Biagi’s riff on the Napa Valley red blend. Crafted with select lots from our Blueline Estate and carefully sourced vineyards in Napa Valley, HG III embodies the deft balance of richness and vibrancy that is at the heart of what we do at Hourglass. Merlot offers sleek, approachable texture and bright red fruit components, Petite Sirah provides the anchoring bass notes of dark blue and black fruit, and Cabernet weaves these together with structural framing and elegant refinement.
Tasting Notes:
Rich, textural layers define HG III. The 2017 greets with lifted aromatics of wild cherry, blueberry, cassis, and subtle hints of dried flowers and savory herbs. These aromas carry forward on the palate, the medley of saturated, pure fruit flavors providing dimension to the broad-shouldered, sumptuous texture. Dense and concentrated, yet balanced by lively acidity, a refined structure and well-integrated tannins, HG III delivers an eminently drinkable wine at cork-pull.
My Notes: All the wines reviews speak loud about this wine Full-bodied, elegant, spice, coco box, delicious
