Deep ruby color; plum, blackberry, strawberry, cedar, cherry cola, earth, hint of oak on the nose and palate.
Dry; smooth, earthy, very relaxed tannins, some acidity. Smooth, charming, easy drinker with dark red fruit forward without being burly or pushy. Seductive. Medium body. Blend of 33% grenache, 20% cinsaut, 20%, 18% carignan, 9% petit verdot. Spent 27 months in 15% new French oak, 85% in neutral barrels. 14.3% ABV
William Chris is a major player in Texas wine ascendency with the quality and quantity to be taken seriously. The winemaking facility and tasting room are located in the tiny hamlet of Hye, 20 miles east of Fredericksburg on US 290, the wine road in the Texas Hill Country that is analogous to Napa’s Highway 29. The Texas Hill Country AVA is the second-most visited AVA in the United States, behind Napa. There are clear differences: the Napa AVA is 789 square miles; the Texas Hill Country AVA is more than 14,000 square miles. Well, things are bigger in Texas.
While the Texas Hill Country AVA produces some grapes, the AVA is famous for its wineries and tasting rooms. Most Texas grapes—85%—come from the Texas High Plains AVA, a region of more than 12,500 square miles on the Texas High Plains (Llano Estacado) centered between Lubbock and Brownfield. With elevations ranging from 3,000 to 4,000+ feet, hot days and cool nights, the High Plains developed into a major grape producing region in the past 40 years. The grapes for this effort come from the High Plains AVA.
The Texas Hill Country AVA is an easy day trip for the more than 1.5 million people living in San Antonio (seventh largest city in the U.S.) and the one million people living in Austin (11th largest city in the U.S.). Throw in 2.3 million people in Houston (4th largest U.S. city) and the Dallas-Arlington-Fort Worth area with 2.5 million people. The Texas Hill Country AVA is comfortably reachable for some eight million people in a less than a four-hour drive. Texans don’t blink about four hour drives, and the Austin/San Antonio drives are 90 minutes or less.
The wisdom is you go to Napa for vineyard beauty, pricy restaurants, and tony tasting rooms. You go to the Texas Hill Country if you want welcoming tasting rooms, good food, thigh-slapping fun, and outrageous characters. You also go there to enjoy the soaring quality and sophistication of Texas wines. William “Bill” Blackmon and Chris Brundrett—William Chris Vineyards—are part of that inspiring story. You also have more than a passing chance of visiting with Chris—his mother refers to him a Christopher, BTW—in the tasting room.
William Chris Vineyards La Pradera Vineyard Blend, Texas High Plains 2020 is a rich, delicious celebration of a five-grape medley of Texas High Plains dark red fruit. Solid, smooth, easy drinker from one of the more significant Texas makers. Pair with beef; lamb; wild game—venison, feral hog/wild boar, wild turkey; Texas barbecue; slow-cooked brisket; baby back ribs. Cheese—goat cheeses, manchego, smoked gouda, cheddar, gruyère, pecorino, asiago. $45-50
