Hunter Glenn Estate

Hunter Glenn Estate was founded by 4th generation Napa Valley family, the brother and sister team of Caroline and Jeffrey Shifflett, Jr., and their mother Ellen. Patriarch Wade Shifflet Sr., and his wife Mary Elizabeth purchased this land at the end of Darms Lane from the Darms family in 1942. This 120-acre property is located within a short drive south west of Yountville. The original Darms here, Balthasar and his wife Elizabeth settled in Napa Valley in 1883 and had seven children. A mention in the Napa County Reporter dated April 27, 1883 mentions Balthasar Darms purchased sixty two acres near Dry Creek from Theodore Ellis. The article also mentions that, “the land is excellent for vineyard purposes and 36 acres have already been planted in two-year old vines”. The sales price was $9,000.

The Shifflet Ranch is gorgeous featuring a diversity of terrain covering both the valley floor and lower foothills of the Mayacamas mountains up to about 600 feet in elevation.

Wade Sr., was a prominent local businessman; previously from Santa Rosa he moved to the city of Napa in 1917 to become manager of the Napa Lumber Company which he held through the 1930s. In 1939 he oversaw the acquisition by Napa Lumber Company of McKinnon-McNair Lumber Company. Well liked and actively involved in the community, he spearheaded efforts in the early 1920s to build a baseball field in Napa and in 1926 he became president of the Credit Association of Napa.

For decades the property was home to cattle along with peaches, plums, cherries and plenty of hay. Wade Sr’s son Wade Shifflett was a Napa County Judge and assistant District Attorney for many years. He ran for state senate in 1960, and according to an article in the February 25, 1960 edition of the Napa Journal, that same year he met with Vice President of the U.S. at the time, Richard Nixon.

Wade Jr (died 1991) and his wife Olga decided to plant grapes on the property with the help of their five children; their first variety was Chardonnay in 1982. They planted 25 acres and sold the grapes to Raymond Winery, eventually picking up more clients including Elyse and Freemark Abbey. Over the years, the vineyards were destroyed by phylloxera and pierce’s disease and a major replanting occurred in the early to mid 1990s and then again in the early 2000s.

Today the property is planted to about 52 acres of vines including the five primary Bordeaux red varieties along with Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah with the intent to eventually plant up to 60 acres in total. Chardonnay no longer grows on site. Most of grapes from the estate are still sold to premium area producers; past clients who have purchased grapes from the property included Duckhorn, Raymond Vineyards, Neal Family and Blackbird Vineyards and currently William & Mary Wine Company.

And grapes from the property have in part been used for the the family’s own wines. Wade and Olga’s son, Jeffrey Shifflett, Sr., former lawyer turned vintner began his own label in 1998 focusing on producing mostly Cabernet Sauvignon wines from both the estate and other parts of the Napa Valley. Wines bottled under the Shifflet brand continue to be produced.

The property is owned by Wade and Olga’s five children including Jeffrey, Kathryn, Michael, Steven, and Mary. Jeffrey Senior’s son Jeffrey Shifflett, Jr. manages the property and is also the winemaker for Hunter Glenn. He worked a harvest in Australia and also worked several harvests at nearby Elyse Winery. Like her brother, Caroline grew up in the Napa Valley (catch up on her wine travels and adventures at Chardonnay Moi); she is responsible for both their direct-to-consumer sales and trade accounts. When deciding upon a name for the wine, they decided to use each other’s middle names (Caroline’s is Hunt and Jeffrey’s is Glenn) opting for Hunter Glenn rather than Hunt Glenn due to its better sounding name.

In addition to using grapes from the family property, Hunter Glenn also sources grapes from the Hunter Glenn Vineyard, 5 acres located in the southern St. Helena City limits. Previously planted entirely to Cabernet Sauvignon, this vineyard is now planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot.

The first vintage of Hunter Glenn was in 2014. The wine was made at Elyse Winery for several years and bottled at Miner Family in Oakville. After converting an old barn to a winery, their wine making operations are now on site of the Shifflet Vineyard. Small but functional, the winery is plenty large enough to accommodate their current approximately 500 case per year production.

Select Wines
Whites
Chardonnay is their only non-Napa wine produced and is sourced from the Starscape Vineyard in the Russian River Valley in neighboring Sonoma County. This is their most produced wine. Ellen’s favorite wine is Chardonnay; her input was critical in crafting this wine. She instructed Jeffrey to make a Chardonnay that is crisp and clean yet round and buttery – certainly a unique challenge as often Chardonnay is made either in a style featuring one or the other of these characteristics – not both.

The 2017 Hunter Glenn Russian River Chardonnay offers aromas of citrus blossom, a mineral nuance and an orange peel zest on the bouquet. 50% of this wine was put through malolactic fermentation. On the palate the wine shows a noticeable intensity of flavor from start to finish. Lingers with flavors of citrus, orange peel and mineral notes. The hallmark of this wine is its intense flavor without being heavy or creamy. Directions well followed.

The 2018 Hunter Glenn Russian River Chardonnay (also from the Starscape Vineyard) saw a bit more battonage than the previous vintage. Pale to medium gold in color; very aromatic in its profile shows tropical notes including pineapple, honeysuckle and jasmine. There is an aromatic brightness which is certainly appealing. Very well balanced from start to finish with flavors of finger limes (but without the tartness) and minerality nuances. Shows a slight roundedness, but definitely no oak or butter driven characteristics. Very balanced.

Reds
The 2021 Hunter Glenn Red Wine is a blend led by 55% Cabernet Sauvignon with the trailing varieties in the blend including Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. This wine was aged for 21 months in 25% new French oak. It is deep garnet in color and nearly opaque; the bouquet is ripe and fruit forward but not over ripe. It is a bowlful of blueberries along with additional scents of dark cherry, boysenberry, Pakistani mulberry, plum and deeper in the aromatics, a note of dark chocolate. Intense and rich across the palate, this wine delivers loads of darker fruited flavors including blackberry, plum, cherry, boysenberry and Persian mulberry. For a before breakfast tasting, this is a bit heavy to start our morning but later in the day would be an ideal pairing with a variety of dry spiced cuts of steak and a BBQ. The firmly textured and broadly felt tannins are slightly tumbled. At this age, three years post vintage, they still show some of their edges and far outpace the fruit with their dusty and gravelly feel. In terms of quality, this wine pulls above its weight class and over delivers for the price point.

The 2017 was the first vintage of Hunter Glenn Merlot; this wine is medium to dark ruby in the glass; the bouquet offers darker fruit aromatics including spicy plum, black cherry, dry earth and notes of dried tobacco leaf. High quality Napa Valley Merlot’s have seen a resurgence in the last few years – and by this we mean interesting Merlots with character and complexity. This is certainly one of them. The palate features plenty of layers with both red cherry and currant flavors. This wine has bright acidity with an energetic and juicy finish. It is balanced and very much a food friendly bottling. Nicely done.

The 2016 Hunter Glenn Syrah offers aromas of dark plum, tobacco leaf, licorice and hints of white pepper. Not as meaty or peppery on the bouquet as some Napa
Valley Syrah we have tried – although it does have some savory characteristics in its aromatic approach. Balanced – this is not a heavy Syrah on the palate but certainly shows plenty of fruit including blackberry and boysenberry along with hints of cedar box on the savory finish. The tannins are surprisingly well-integrated.

The 2016 Hunter Glenn Red Wine Blend takes some time to open on the bouquet – the aromas are eventually teased out with time in the glass showing cherry cola and raspberry with a hint of mocha. Some wines are made with a versatility of food pairings in mind; this is one of them. With bright acidity throughout the palate, this wine offers flavors of red cherry, currants and cranberry. The supple finish lingers with a tartness of fruit complemented by a very pleasing texture with fine-grained well integrated tannins.

Caroline’s husband, Jared Clevenger designed both of the Hunter Glenn wine labels through his St. Helena based design firm, Standards & Greatness. All their wines are limited production; however, the “bookend” label represents their premium specialty wines. In 2014 they produced one wine under this label, a Cabernet Franc.

The 2014 Hunter Glenn Cabernet Franc was entirely sourced from the Shifflett Estate; this wine was aged in 50% new French oak for 18 months. Features a captivating bouquet that one needs to sit with to enjoy all its aromatic nuances as it evolves in the glass. Shows plenty of fruit on the nose including blackberry and a raspberry sweetness along with hints of sage, tobacco leaf, a wintergreen nuance and dark chocolate. Reveals more fruit as the wine opens. Nicely balanced and elegant on the palate, the wine offers more red fruit than dark fruit flavors. Lingers with flavors of red cherry; lively and bright, the wine dances across the palate. This is an excellent food wine and a bottling well worth seeking out.

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The wines are selectively distributed in Ohio and New Mexico and a distributor also carries some of the wines in Japan. And they sometimes participate in select wine focused events including the annual Garagiste Wine Festival (a collection of very tiny producers). Locally one may be able to find select bottlings at Wine Country Connection in Yountville. For more information or to purchase wines, visit: www.hunterglenn.com