Medium gold color; pear, peach, lemon, lemongrass, green apple, orange peel, honey, vanilla, lavender, minerality on the nose and palate.
Dry, but delicious ripe fruit mimics some sweetness. Minimal tannin; very good acidity (3.31 pH; 6.6 g/L TA). Fresh, juicy, clean, vivid fruits. Medium body, creamy texture. Grapes primarily from estate’s oldest chardonnay block featuring Old Wente clone chardonnay vines planted in 1989 in Carneros. 100% chardonnay; certified regenerative organic. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. No malolactic conversion, thus preserving acidity and bright character. Aged in French oak, 40% new, 53% barrel, 47% foudres. 13.5% ABV
The 2021 growing season was free from severe weather issues. Despite drought, yield increased five percent over 2020. Mild spring and summer was very accommodating to the vines. Cooler temperatures in August and September allowed harvesting of each block at peak of ripeness, concentrating fruit flavors and emphasizing phenolic ripeness (and the illusion of sweetness). The 2021 result is a classic, refined, elegant effort from winery with one of the deepest chardonnay reputations in Napa.
Grgich Hills Estate began on July 4, 1977 as a partnership between famed winemaker Miljenko “Mike” Grgich and Austin Hills, a member of the Hills Brothers Coffee family, and Hill’s sister Mary Lee Strebl. They deliberately chose Independence Day to symbolically reflect a revolution in American winemaking. The winery’s original sign employed red, white, and blue colors. The name reflects the partnership, with the Hills portion referencing the two owners, not geography.
Austin Hills brought premium vineyards in Rutherford and his business skills to the partnership. Mike Grgich brought exceptional reputation as a winemaker. The year before, Grgich’s Château Montelena Chardonnay shocked the wine world at the Judgment of Paris. Born in a small village on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast and educated at the University of Zagreb, Grgich left Communist Yugoslavia in 1954. He first worked in Germany and Canada, then arrived in Napa Valley in 1958. He worked at Souverain, Christian Brothers, and Beaulieu Vineyard (where he worked with André Tchelistcheff), Robert Mondavi, and at Château Montelena, where he made the Judgment of Paris chardonnay winner. Grgich passed away in 2023—two years after this wine was made. He was 100 years old.
While the winery began with Hill’s Rutherford property, it has since grown to five vineyards across distinct Napa Valley regions: the original Rutherford, Yountville, Los Carneros, American Canyon, and Calistoga. This allows them to source all their grapes from estate properties, prompting a name change from Grgich Hills Cellar to Grgich Hills Estate in 2006. At the same time, the vineyard became certified organic. They also embraced biodynamic farming and installed enough solar panels to meet their electric needs. In 2023, they achieved Regenerative Organic Certification, sequestering some 6.5 tons of carbon per acre.
Mike Grgich retired as president of the operation in 2018 at age 94. His daughter Violet took his place. Today, both the Grgich and Hills families continue to share ownership of the winery equally. Austin Hills remains involved. Mike’s nephew, Ivo Jeramaz, is winemaker and vice president of vineyards & production. Ivo’s daughter, Maja Jeramaz, manages export and California chains, selling Grgich Hills wine around the world.
Grgich Hills Estate Chardonnay, Napa Valley 2021 is delightful celebration of Napa fruit and winery skill by makers that put Napa chardonnay on the world map. Crunchy, full bodied, delicious from a vintage that encouraged ripeness and depth. No malolactic conversion and deft oak regimen allows the fruit to play the leading role in the drinking drama. A wine impressively reflective of Mike Grgich’s skill and legacy. $45-50
Pairing—Seafood; grilled salmon with herb-infused olive oil; seafood pasta, linguine with clams, shrimp and scallops; lobster with butter sauce, shrimp scampi. Roasted her chicken, chicken in cream sauce. Creamy risotto, butternut squash creamy risotto; quinoa and mixed bean salad. Cheese—Triple-cream cheeses, Saint André; brie, camembert; aged gouda, gruyère, comté; fresh goat cheese, mozzarella, ricotta. On charcuterie board, include dried apricots, raw or toasted walnuts, castelvetrano olives, fresh baguette or crostini.
