On Wednesday, February 4, 2026, we interviewed James McCeney. James is the winemaker at Patz & Hall Winery. We covered eight wines during our visit. We started with four 2022 single vineyards Chardonnay wines. Then we tried four 2022 single vineyard Pinot Noirs. It was a terrific portfolio tasting. In this post, you can learn what we learned about James, the Patz & Hall Winery and read our reviews of all of these impressive wines.
Before we get to the wines, I thought I would share some tidbits that James McCeney shared in the interview.
- Tell us a little bit about the Patz & Hall history?
- James Hall joined Flora Springs Winery in 1983 as an assistant winemaker.
- He spent four years there developing his expertise crafting barrel-fermented, small-lot Chardonnays.
- James developed a close friendship with sales manager, Donald Patz.
- In 1988, while working as the winemaker and estate manager for Honig Winery, James teamed up with Donald and Heather Patz, and Anne Moses to make and release Patz & Hall’s inaugural Napa Valley Chardonnay.
- In 1990, they submitted their “Hyde” Chardonnay to Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. It drew such acclaim that their New York distributor bought it all.
- In the early years they needed to sell the wine to make the next year’s vintage.
- Donald was still in sales at Girard Winery at the time.
- James Hall was the Patz & Hall winemaker for three decades.
- He built lasting relationships with such renowned growers such as Larry Hyde, Charlie Chenoweth, Gary Pisoni and Joe and Steve Dutton to create his acclaimed portfolio of single-vineyard wines.
- In 1997 they started working with Dutton Ranch
- Adam Lee called James and introduced him to Gray Pisoni for some of his Pinot.
- James Hall was working for Acacia 2010. In 2012-2013 he brought James McCeney on as an assistant winemaker. That link continues below.
- The wines were made via custom crush until 2007.
- Then Patz & Hall built a 1,000-ton winery designed by James Hall.
- It was built to suit for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
- All open top, just like in Burgundy.
- In 2016 they were approached by Chateau St. Michelle (CSM) to sell.
- It was a very good deal, so they sold the winery.
- James Hall stayed on as winemaker.
- CSM did not change much.
- Eventually Sycamore who owned (CSM) started selling off assets. They eventually sold Patz and Hall back to James Hall in March of 2024.
- Now they have the same great wine, controlled by them.
- Tell us about you, James McCeney? How you got into wine and eventually made it to Patz & Hall.
- From ages 13-22 James worked at a winery in Maryland each summer.
- James played lacrosse at Boston College. He worked at Martignetti Liquors on Soldiers Field Road. This job cemented his love for wine!
- In 2003 he moved to California. Working wine on the east coast was too hard.
- He got into Davis in 2008.
- He did a world tour of 10 vintages over the course of 5 years.
- In 2017 he worked for Dan Goldfield at Dutton Goldfield.
- In 2018 he worked for Donum.
- From 2019 thru 2022 he was the winemaker at Lewis Cellars.
- James started at Patz & Hall in April of 2023.
- Tom Klassen and James McCeney finished the 2022’s that we covered. Before James took over.
- Tell us about the vintages 2022-2025?
- 2022 – All the grapes were harvested before the heat spike. It was a great vintage. It was good to make wine from early ripening grapes.
- 2023 – Harvest was 3-4 weeks late. You were in control. Chard allowed for optimal picks times to control alcohol. A lot of whole cluster Pinot. Long hangtimes.
- 2024 – Is a warmer vintage. Both Pinot and Chards are luxurious.
- 2025 – Bright fruit!
- Any tidbits on the Single Vineyards?
- Hyde Chardonnay
- They get 3 different parcels which are blended.
- They are in between Ramey and HdV.
- Bootlegger’s Hill
- James introduced Charlie Chenoweth to Larry Hyde. This vineyard has budwood from Hyde.
- Soberanes Vineyard is 3 hours from the winery.
- They rely on Mark Pisoni for a lot of the vineyard management and updates.
- There is a lot of wind. Skins are thick.
- Chenoweth Ranch
- Less water. Less Ripeness. Surrounded by redwoods.
- Gap’s Crown – James thinks he has the best parcel.
- They are next to Kistler.
- Fairly high up.
- Entirely 667 clone.
- What is new?
- They will have an “Estate” Pinot and Chard in 2023.
- It was planted in 2019.
- They lease and control the whole vineyard.
- The Pinot will be both Calera and 115.
- Lastly, here is the link to The Taste podcast interview with Doug Shafer and James Hall that inspired me to reach out and set up this interview.
- They will have an “Estate” Pinot and Chard in 2023.
- Hyde Chardonnay
Below is a summary of the wine offerings from Patz & Hall that we covered with James. The links below are to our full reviews. If you are interested in ordering and trying these wines, you will find some of these wines via your favorite fine wine shop or on top quality wines lists. You can also purchase these wines on the Patz & Hall website.
- Patz & Hall 2022 Chardonnay “Hyde Vineyard” (Carneros) $65 (KWGTP 92)
- Patz & Hall 2022 Chardonnay “Durell Vineyard” (Sonoma Valley) $55 (KWGTP 93.5)
- Patz & Hall 2022 Chardonnay “Bootlegger’s Hill” (RRV) $70 (KWGTP 93.5)
- Patz & Hall 2022 Chardonnay “Soberanes Vineyard” (Santa Lucia Highlands) $70 (KWGTP 94.5)
- Patz & Hall 2022 Pinot Noir “Jenkins Ranch” (Sonoma Coast) $65 (KWGTP 93)
- Patz & Hall 2022 Pinot Noir “Chenoweth Ranch” (RRV) $70 (KWGTP 93)
- Patz & Hall 2022 Pinot Noir “Bootlegger’s Hill” (RRV) $70 (KWGTP 93.5)
- Patz & Hall 2022 Pinot Noir “Gap’s Crown” (Sonoma Coast) $70 (KWGTP 94.5)
Additional Patz & Hall Wines Covered In Other Tastings
- Patz & Hall 2023 Chardonnay “Dutton Ranch” (RRV) $45 (KWGTP 92.5)
- Patz & Hall 2023 Chardonnay “Sonoma Coast” $35 (Ken 92.5)
- Patz & Hall 2022 Pinot Noir ” Sonoma Coast” (RRV) $45 (Ken 90.5)
- Patz & Hall 2017 “Brut Sparkling Wine” (North Coast) (KWGTP 91)
You can find reviews of past and future Patz & Hall wines that we cover on the Patz & Hall KWG winery page on our website. We hope you enjoy these terrific wines as much as we did. Cheers! – Ken