Hillcrest

Hillcrest is a relatively small winery that does a vast majority of its business via mail order.  If they haven't sold out (which they generally do each year) you can visit them by appointment.

Once a year they do an open day where they have 60 some odd wines available to taste, a few specials here and there, the off chance to by a few back vintages and they provide some nice little nibbles for people to snack on.

Hillcrest is generally known for their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir but they also have a pretty decent Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot if you have a chance to try those.

Impressions:
Their open day, while not huge, is really very nice.  Plenty of different things to try, spit buckets and food...Really all you can ask for.

They had Chardonnays back to about 2004, Village, Estate, Premium and even one Reserve.

They had Pinots back to 2001, Village, Estate, Premium and one Reserve.

They had about 8-10 Cabernet Sauvignons and about 8-10 Merlots.


One thing I really like about their Chardonnays is they're very acid driven..they still have oak..they avoid Malo but I think some happens naturally...Either way, it has great depth and complexity...and they age very nicely...

The highlight of the Chardonnays for me was the 2010 Reserve....Really great mouthfeel, texture, great acid, great fruit that soaked up whatever oak was used...really complex, complete wine.  They rarely make a Reserve Chardonnay...apparently only in the best of years but this was looking really good.

2012 Chardonnay Cleanskin.  I didn't ask why they had them..I assume they had such a good year they had more than they wanted to bottle under their village label..either way, really nice chardonnay that I end up getting for less than 10 dollars a bottle..

Pinot Noir Reserve 2006.  I've been wanting to try this awhile, I'm glad I got the chance.  Bigger fruit but but very elegant mouthfeel.  Great use of oak, very good acidity, nice texture overall.  There are things (a bit of rubber) that makes me think Australian Pinot..but it isn't that noticeable and adds complexity instead of takes away from the wine..this is very well done...

Overall impressions - Most of the Chardonnays are top notch...I think I thought one was a little on the light side w/ acidity but pretty much everything across the board Chardonnay wise was very good...consistently good with great acid, great mouthfeel..the difference between the Village, Estate, Premium and Reserve was really the depth of the wine and little quality differences.

Pinot was a bit less consistent...I think some early Pinots were not good at all..very Australian Pinot, Rubbery bleh...They didn't have the right mouthfeel and weren't done properly .When they got to around 2003/2004 it started changing a bit.  Better overall quality, better mouthfeel, they looked like they'd age better as well.  After 2004 they were all pretty nice..the quality was excellent....The Premium 2010 was very good..I think the only one I thought maybe shouldn't have been made was the 2011 Village Pinot...

Cabernet and Merlot..both were quite interesting..very good expression of fruit...I think the Cabernets were consistently better for me..but there were a few very nice Merlots as well...I think the issue I'd have is they don't stack up price wise.....

For anyone that lives around the area I'd definitely suggest making time to go out there....Heck, one guy even took public transport and walked a few k to get there...