As we noted in our recent report about the just-unveiled 2009 Neiman Marcus Christmas Book, one of the most exclusive gifts on offer this year is a HALL Artisan Wine and Art Experience for $20,000, including a bespoke bottling from the renowned artisanal Napa Valley winemaker. If that's out of your range you can still enjoy the HALL experience this holiday season with wines from their Napa Valley Collection. The collection includes HALL's signature Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from select fruit from their five estate vineyards encompassing more than 500 acres. The flagship is the Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon, a "sumptuous wine that is the amalgam of the finest wines of the vintage." The 2006 Kathryn Hall vintage was sourced predominately from the estate's Sacrashe Vineyard and captures the "deep, dusty essence" of its hilltop site, helping to earn a 95 point rating from Wine Enthusiast.

The Kathryn Hall Cabernet has a nose of effusive, high-toned exotic fruits, truffle, blackberry jam and crushed stone minerality, with a lasting richness and dense sweet texture on the palate. The 2008 Sauvignon Blanc is notable for balanced acidity, ripe, vivid citrus flavor and a clean lingering finish, with aromas of pink grapefruit, lemon-lime, gooseberry, orange blossom and guava. The 2005 Napa Valley Merlot features Intense aromatics of cedar oak accented by scents of roasted coffee beans and a hint of violets and roses. An open, textured palate of ripe briar fruit, dusty mocha and black pepper finishes with a surge of plum and soft tannin. The 2005 HALL Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon shows rich, concentrated aromatics of currant, blackberry, and ripe cherry complemented by hints of toasty oak. Flavors of leather and nutmeg coalesce with plum and vanilla in the concentrated mid-palate and settle into a seductive, chewy finish.

You can now monitor progress on Frank Gehry's amazing Hall Winery project in the Napa Valley via a live video feed. Last year my colleague Deidre Woollard told you about the ambitious plan for the new facility built around the original 1885 winery south of St. Helena. Progress is proceeding apace on the project, which artfully blends avant-garde architecture with existing historic structures. The live cam is the latest addition to the Gehry plan web features, which include a project gallery and time-lapse camera showing progress to date. Hall's new 110,000-square-foot complex of six buildings, which broke ground last summer, is slated to open in 2010. Pictured above is Gehry (center) and associate Edwin Chan (left) with winery owners Kathryn and Craig Hall (right) discussing the architect's model for a new Visitor's Center, an all-glass structure supported by a "floating" trellis overhang. See the gallery for more.

We swooned over Frank Gehry's designs for the Marques de Riscal winery/resort in Spain, now the legendary starchitect has something a bit more modest planned for a Napa winery. The above is Gehry's design for Hall Wines which is creating a new complex of six buildings on Highway 29, south of St. Helena. The facility had its groundbreaking on Friday and will be built around a historic winery built in 1885 that was once home to Napa's wine co-op. The new design includes undulating wood trellises similar to Gehry's usual metal flourishes. The wood gives the winery a slightly more traditional look. The new winery should be open in 2009 and will be open to the public for tours and tastings.

[via SF Gate]