Rhone Winemaking

Although the winery is in California, Holly's Hill wines have a distinctive old world flair. Emphasis is placed on the fruit itself and interventions throughout the aging process are infrequent and minor.  Only French oak is used and preferably neutral barrels without the vanilla, astringency and tannins of new barrels.  Carrie and Josh also use larger volume casks as it has been done in the Rhone Valley of France for centuries.  The wines are only racked if needed allowing for further concentrations of flavors to develop from the lees at the bottom of the barrels.  White wines generally spend about six months in barrels and reds eleven months. Syrah on the other hand ages for up to two years before bottling.  The Patriarche blend is the first wine put together each year getting only the best lots of estate fruit.