Rutherford Hill Winery

View All/ Add Photos

7079637194 200 Rutherford Hill Road
Rutherford, CA 94573
United States View map

info@rutherfordhill.com
www.rutherfordhill.com

Founded in 1972, Rutherford Hill Winery is a pioneer in the development of California Merlot. The grape growers who founded Rutherford Hill carefully studied the geography of the region and capitalized on climate and soil conditions that resembled those of Pomerol, the small but distinctive Merlot-growing region of Bordeaux. And what a promising discovery that was - one that has borne plenty of fruit - specifically, the lush, purple-black grapes that have contributed so much to Rutherford Hill's success. Today, Merlot remains the flagship wine of the company with 75 percent of Rutherford Hill's production dedicated to this varietal, one of the leading Merlots of Napa Valley. When the Terlato family of the Terlato Wine Group (TWG), Lake Bluff, Illinois, purchased the winery in 1996, they immediately began to apply their guiding principle: Quality is a way of life. The pursuit of excellence began with a comprehensive review of all aspects of the facility that resulted in significant enhancements. TWG Chairman Anthony Terlato works with Rutherford Hill winemakers to tackle the challenges of consistently improving the wine, vintage after vintage. The philosophy that the Terlatos apply to all their ventures was evident at Rutherford Hill from the start. Their first step was to reduce production by 14,000 cases. This eliminated inferior lots from the final blend, and met the demanding new quality standard they had set. Building on Tradition Another way of putting quality first was to create an environment in which reserve wines could be given the time, care and consideration they needed within the Rutherford Hill portfolio. A new state-of-the art facility for the production of reserve wines - a "winery within a winery" - began taking shape in spring of 2000 and was functional in time for that year's harvest. Costing more than $4 million, the 5,100-square foot winery addition has 24 fermentation tanks ranging from 1,500 to 6,000 gallons. It is self-contained, complete with its own crusher/de-stemmer, press, refrigeration capabilities (tanks are jacketed for both warming and cooling glycol) and harvest crew. Rutherford Hill was an innovator in Napa Valley in the building of caves and employment of a pallet-stacking system within those caves. Year-round, 8,000 wine-filled French and American oak barrels age in an ideal wine-storage environment of 59ºF/90 percent humidity. The result is a substantial reduction in wine evaporation, creating wines with lower concentrations of alcohol. The improvements in the caves that began in 1999 illustrate the big-picture view that embodies the Terlato family's commitment to quality. Year-round, 8,000 French and American oak barrels age wine in an ideal, consistent storage environment of 59ºF, and up to 90 percent humidity. – Description from Dragac (hide)

Add description View descriptions »

Reserve Merlot (2003)

Winery:	Rutherford Hill Winery
Region:	USA » California » Napa » Rutherford
Varietal:	Merlot
Type:	Table Wines

View wine »

ahall

ripe berries and leather taste.

View more Reviews »

View More
Popular wines by Rutherford Hill Winery

Find local availability for these wines:Submit

Varietals Produced by Rutherford Hill Winery View all

Sangiovese

Prounounced “San-joh-vay-say,” this Italian wine varietal is Tuscany’s #1 red wine grape. It’s the pistol of Central ...
Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc is widely grown in California -- at over 15,000 acres, it’s now the third most planted variety -- and...
Zinfandel

Parentage of the grape: Crljenak to Austria to America. In the 1970s, claims surfaced that the Italian Primitivo is l...
Cabernet Sauvignon

“King of the Red Wine Grapes.” The colonizer of the vineyards, pushing native wine grapes into its shadows. The Caber...
Merlot

The Occitanian word “merlot” translates to “young blackbird.” An accurate description for this popular, early-budding...

People getting updates on Rutherford Hill Winery

Page 1 of 10
Rutherford Hill Winery on Snooth

May 2013

I ran up to Napa for a few days to get away and taste some wines from places I'd never been (most of them). I went during BottleRock Napa, but alas, didn't partake in an y of those festivities. Some great finds, so I have listed/linked any of the wines I rated over 90 points, should anyone have interest, or their own thoughts on the wines. Wit... Read More

Forum post in the topic Napa Highlights May 2013
April 2013

Rutherford Hill Merlot Reserve 2008

Snoothrank:

Medium dark ruby color; baked black fruit, French oak, vanilla nose; baked black fruit, ripe berry palate with integrating oak; medium-plus finish. (80% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Malbec; 18 mos. in French oak; 14.4% alcohol) 91 points Read More

Wine review by RJonWine
April 2013

Rutherford Hill Merlot Reserve 2009

Snoothrank:

Medium dark ruby color; focused berry, blackberry nose; ripe berry, blackberry, baked berry palate; needs 1-2 years; medium-plus finish. (90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon; 18 mos. in French oak; 14.1% alcohol) 92 points Read More

Wine review by RJonWine
April 2013

In 2004, the movie Sideways put a major dent in California Merlot sales when Miles uttered the immortal words “I am not drinking fucking Merlot!” At that point there were a lot of ripe, insipid Merlots on the market—many grown in areas that were too hot for the grape to ripen slowly, gaining full physiological maturity—so Miles’ sentiments reson... Read More

From the article Napa Merlots
March 2013

Elsewhere you can read about the offline I attended with OT and GdP and a bunch of winemakers, winelovers, and the like. But on the way there, I think I solved a major problem with California wine; over conversation with GdP and an assistant winemaker from Napa, my belief was confirmed.I read in an obituary of Aldo Conterno that he had come to ... Read More

Forum post in the topic What's wrong with California...
February 2013

Rutherford Hill Red Barrel Select Napa Valley 2008

Snoothrank:

No written review

Wine review by Dr Jen
February 2013

Rutherford Hill Red Barrel Select Napa Valley 2008

Snoothrank:

An earthy, lighter-than-expected, well-balanced red wine from Napa. Nice dry finish, probably good with food although (at the moment) we are enjoying it on its own. Not your typical Napa red. Read More

Wine review by Dr Jen
January 2013

Being a cab lover I am hesitant to stray from what I like. On a recent occasion I had the opportunity to try a Zinfandel and to my amazement, it had some of the same attributes of the cabernets I love so well. I perused Snooth and stopped on a particular zin from Bogle vineyards. Gregory Dal Piaz gave it a nice rating and being a member of Snoot... Read More

Forum post in the topic New on the block with Zinfandel
July 2012

I'm planning on being in Napa on Wednesday the 25th and will probably visit at least two wineries while there. Anyone care to meet up, just let me know.My first priority seems to be Outpost Winery, though there are a few others I'm considering, I'll probably start at Outpost at 2pm if they can accommodate. Read More

Forum post in the topic Day in Napa, 7/25 - Lagier...
July 2012

I had my first example of a Frank Family wine, yesterday--2006 Napa Valley Zinfandel. I was intrigued that the back label on this bottle had an interesting discourse on the Larkmead Winery:"Historic Larkmead Winery was originally built of wood in 1884. in 1905, new owners Felix Salmina, Sr. and his wife, Theresa, commissioned local stonemason,... Read More

Forum post in the topic Larkmead Winery/Frank Family...
Oct 16, 2009

New image uploaded to this page.

Page modification by 33324Dragac 33324
Oct 16, 2009

Description added for this page.

Page modification by 33324Dragac 33324