“sustainably farmed” in Napa Valley, CA; 14.6% ABV
$6 at the Berkeley, CA, store on 31 Oct
After liking the Hill Wine Co. 2012 Chardonnay, I was curious to try the 2012 Chardonnay on which Mr. Hill was willing bestow his first name. If you like this style of Chardonnay, this is very good for the money.
By “this style,” I mean ripe, buttery, and well-oaked. It has elegant fruit of yellow apple and some pineapple with complexities of lemon, fresh Chardonnay grape, white of the melon rind, and a little green apple / lime, in a gently viscous, supple body. The oak is smooth, savory, and well integrated with everything else. Although I say ripe and buttery, I didn’t find this wine too heavy or flabby, although there wasn’t distinct acid, either. It gets neither better nor worse with air, but I did prefer it a little warmed from fridge temp.
The next day, the rest of the wine in the bottle, kept in the fridge with the cork in the top, had developed quite well. The wine was more “unwound,” a little lighter in body and showing a nice array of tropical fruit flavors, including pineapple, coconut / cherimoya, golden kiwi, maybe banana, although with a sort of funky / pungent flavor contributing to the finish. Anyway, I still think this is pretty good wine for $6.
The magical world of wines from Grocery Outlet 
I wish we’d seen these wines up here. Between the Carneros PN and this, I believe we’d have enjoyed both bottles. They aren’t even on our local distributor list (according to the store owners I spoke to).