2016 Redwood Hill Blend Fountaingrove District Sonoma County 750 ml

Two Michelin-starred Northern California restaurants and a tiny winery mailing list—that’s the company you keep when you get in on our exclusive allocation of Redwood Hill’s 2016 Hill Blend. It’s a gorgeous, rich, and concentrated Right Bank-style red from high in the mountains of Sonoma County, and today you can claim it for a ridiculous $25 per bottle.

This is exactly the kind of wine we take pride in bringing Wine Access members. Sourced from a family-run winery that produces a total of just 500 cases per year, this gem has remained under everyone’s radar—except for Michelin-starred restaurants Michael Mina in San Francisco and Farmhouse Inn in Sonoma County, both of whom have sniffed it out and put it on the lists. But anything those temples of gastronomy can track down, we can track down too—and then we can offer it to our members at an unprecedented price.

Grown at their six-acre vineyard site at 1400 feet of elevation, and crafted by winemaker Randall Watkins (Laurel Glen, Moon Mountain), the Hill Blend is a luscious Right Bank-inspired cuvée showing a rich and concentrated core, tons of red and black fruit, and a mountain of floral components, led by violets and lilacs. It all gives way to a dark chocolate layer with red and black fruit, a generous espresso tone, and toasted notes from 21 months in French oak. This is off-the-charts Bordeaux-style quality from a hidden gem of a winery. 

When they first set foot on the spectacular Redwood Hill site—and then took in the sweeping view of the Russian River Valley—the Clifford family knew they had something special. At their 1400’ perch, the site benefits from an ideal microclimate. “The days are warm, and we get the cool winds blowing off the ocean through the Petaluma Gap,” proprietor John Clifford told us. “We’ve got very cold nights, and are able to grow grapes that demonstrate great acidity in wine. There’s really nice balance and elegance that comes through in this wine.”

The Cliffords aren’t the only Sonoma County producers benefitting from this fantastic 100% organically-farmed fruit. We swore not to name names, but grapes from Redwood Hill are also claimed by a top-flight Sonoma County producer: a family with deep roots in Bordeaux. For as long as the Cliffords have farmed this tiny plot, that distinguished Bordelaise family has been more than happy to claim Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot from the Redwood Hill site.

For personal reasons, the Clifford family has decided to move on from the wine world, and are planning on releasing the remainder of their wines to their small but loyal mailing list over the next couple of years. But we convinced them give Wine Access members a chance to enjoy the fruits of their special plot in the mountains, so we scored a few dozen cases of the Hill Blend.

Crafted from 47% Cabernet Franc, 36% Merlot, and 17% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in 40% new French oak, this red bursts with the kind of rich fruit, lively acidity, and intriguing complexity that you’d expect from a $50 wine.