Hourglass HG III Red Blend 2017 | Virtually Perfect Napa Red
Cabernet Sauvignon hand-harvested off the Blueline vineyard, blended with Merlot and Petit Sirah. Hourglass HG III Red Blend 2017 presents bright ruby in color. Bursting with boysenberry, blueberry, black plum, graphite, and sweet clove notes. Supple and mouth-filling with an open-knit texture on the palate. While revealing layers of black plum, black currant, thyme, mocha, and crème-de-cassis. A long 30-45 second fruit-driven finish.
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JD91-93 | Moving to the barrel samples Hourglass HG III Red Blend 2017 is a fruity, forward, total charmer that gives up medium to full-bodied notes of blue and black fruits and leafy herbs. It’s well-made and already hard to resist, yet I suspect it will keep for more than a decade.
RP90 | Hourglass HG III Red Blend 2017 is a blend of 60% Merlot, 17% Petite Sirah, 5% Syrah, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon plus some mixed field blends. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it has a pretty perfume of baked black cherries, plum pudding, and spice cake with wafts of wilted roses and garrigue. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is filled with evocative juicy black and blue fruits, framed by plush tannins, finishing spicy.
Winemaker Tony Biagi | Golden era in Napa
Robert Parker’s affection for Hourglass winemaker Tony Biagi—“one of my favorite personalities in the valley” is etched on the Wine Advocate scoreboard. During his decade-long tenure at PlumpJack and Cade Biagi racked up an astonishing run of 99- and 98-point. While producing bottles that now retail for $300 to $800 per bottle. Hired away by standout Hourglass in 2012, Biagi is on fire yet again. And Parker is calling his efforts “virtually perfect”.
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So, Biagi set about creating “HG III” from a handful of select barrels that were destined for their Blueline Estate reds. The 2017 release was culled from brilliant sites around Napa, courtesy of Biagi’s deep connections. And Biagi crafted the biggest, boldest, most opulent expression of this wine yet. “This is the golden era in Napa,” he told us with a telling wink.
Hourglass Winery
But Biagi’s deft touch is only half of what makes the 2017 HG III outstanding. The other half comes from the vines. First, Cabernet comes from the Blueline Vineyard, named for the two “blue-line” streams that run along its edges. Which lies within a stone’s throw of both Switchback Ridge and Three Palms. Next, two sources of California’s most famous Merlots since the 1980s. While Biagi’s lush HG III Red leverages Merlot with a touch of Petit Sirah from select Napa parcels to add depth and richness. Finally, the result is pure harmony in a gorgeous red blend.
