Owner’s Clark and Linda Hornbaker started
planting vines on their Texas plot about six years ago. Like many Texas
winery entrepreneurs, they started out their adult professional lives doing one
thing and ended up in the Texas vineyard and wine business after talking about
it and just finally doing it. Their son, Chris Hornbaker (Grayson College
alumni) has a hand as winemaker in their family operation. With the
maturing vines, they’ve been able to produce some estate Tempranillo and Muscat
wines. Grapes from Smith Estate Vineyard (owned by Texas wine pioneer
Bobby Smith), as well as West Texas help supplement the Hornbaker’s wine
production. They have a full range of the wines available for
tasting. One wine you may have a hard time finding in Texas that they
serve is an Albarino white wine. Blended with Viognier, this dry wine has
a unique crisp, citrus and lime flavor that is quite delightful. They
also serve a very nice dry Blanc du Bois that is quite refreshing on a warm December
day in Texas. Don’t miss out on the late harvest Roussanne with its
buttery color and well balanced presentation. Their estate Tempranillo (a
gold Dallas wine competition winner) has a strong fruit forward and medium body
characteristic that is quite fulfilling. The 2011 Texas vintage should be
one for keepers! They also have a Tempranillo/Cabernet blend that is
quite good and should please most red wine lovers. You’ll want to
save some room for their estate Orange Muscat. It’s sweet and crisp and
leaves a nice long zesty finish on your palate. Definitely try this one
with some dark chocolate! We were fortunate to be able to sample some
Chambroucin that was still in the tank. “Wow” may be an understatement.
If they keep this up, they may put Chambroucin on the Texas map. They
also had a Cabernet Sauvignon still in the barrel that we were able to sample, that
was pretty darn tasty for one of their first cracks at a single varietal
Cabernet. It should settle and age well in the bottle. The other
yet to be released wine we sampled was Devine White, which is a blend of
Albarino, Pinot Grigio, and Orange Muscat. There won’t be that many cases
produced, but it is well worth the effort to get some before they are gone once
they are released. The Eden Hill estate is a delightful place to relax on a
sunny Sunday afternoon. The neighboring moo cows just add that nice “off
the beaten path” and “you can relax now you’re in the country” feel to the
place. The estate is a working farm that harvests fresh fruits and
vegetables and practices sustainable methods. Take some time on
your next road trip when in the area and head to this new place north of Dallas.
It’s a cool place to sip and swirl with delightful owners very willing to chat
about what makes Texas wines so good. Cheers!
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