A layered pinot gris with notes of lemon, ripe pear and white peach. What makes it a standout is its great minerality. Lovely.
Love this silky Pinot Noir! It seems to get better every year. Beautiful cherries and field raspberry notes roll in first, then there's fresh earth aromas after a spring rain followed by some baking spices and a long finish. This Pinot has been one of my favourites for years. Satin seduction in a glass. Some comforting mocha on the finish. 4.6/5 Pinot Noir food pairings: turkey, pork tenderloin, coq au vin, grilled salmon.
2011 Byron Chardonnay, “Nielson vineyard,” Santa Maria Valley: creamy and rich, aromas and flavors of ripe peaches and minerals.
It sounds like there is everything to love here. Fred lists this wine as having a distinctive, enticing nose of moist cedar, spicy forest floor, and fresh red fruits with blueberry juice and mocha. A very special wine, according to Fred, with fine tannins and quite a long finish. The five-case PNV lot sold for $20,000.
2011 Journey Chardonnay, Sonoma County: quite crisp, with complex green apple, pear and mineral aromas and flavors and nutty finish.
2014 La Crema Chardonnay, Russian River Valley: crisp and lively, with intense aromas and flavors of apples and peaches, long finish.
2012 La Crema Chardonnay, Arroyo Seco, Monterey: rich aromas and flavors of ripe mangos and peaches, smooth and creamy.
Hmm, guess what? What? I think I like this better than the 2010.
Plenty of pepper and spice, dusty cupboards, aniseed, ripe blackberry, raspberry and vanilla perfume. Medium bodied, has the vintage signature of tangy rain washed acidity and lightly astringent tannin, but carries it off with aplomb. Clean bramble fruit, plenty of spice and a refreshing odd-vintage kind of appeal is the order of the day. There’s a lot of light and shade in this wine – it’s not heavy or raisiny – good things! Finish is spicy and brambly and encourages the next glass. Lovely spicy wine.
We loved the forward, juicy fruit of the enjoyable pinot noir from Monterey County vineyards. Soft mouthfeel, loads of plum flavors and a dash of cola. It's the first vintage of this estate bottling.
You have to love this pinot noir purely for its generous, forward flavors. It's simply delicious -- but not subtle in the classic sense of Burgundy. At $25, it is one of the best pinot noir values on the market. Black cherries and strawberries dominate the flavor profile.
You get a lot of pinot noir flavor for your money here. Extracted raspberry and cherry flavors with hints of spice and long in the finish. Byron also makes a delicious and more concentrated pinot noir from the Nielson Vineyard ($36). It has ripe plum and blueberry notes with some interesting spice and a lingering finish.
If you are looking for an affordable pinot noir, this one is dependable year after year. Good balance with juicy cherry flavors and a dash of licorice. Nice forest floor accent and long finish.
We also like the winery's 2011 Monterey pinot noir for $23 - a good value.
This is a very delicious and smooth pinot noir with great complexity and finish. Licorice and cola aromas with supple and sweet blackberry flavors. We also like the winery's 2011 Monterey pinot noir for $23 - a good value.
K-J has a reasonably priced, extracted and delicious pinot noir from Monterey and Santa Barbara counties. Juicy and ripe strawberry notes with a dash of pepper.
The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Christopher's is the richest and inkiest of these Cabernet Sauvignons. Blackberry jam, cloves, espresso, gravel, graphite, violets and tar all burst across the palate in a voluptuous, intense wine loaded with class and pure intensity. This is a fabulous showing from Stonestreet.
Butter, pastry, tropical fruit, spices and honey open up in the glass as the 2012 Chardonnay Broken Road shows off its voluptuous, textured personality. The Broken Road is one of the more forward, overt Chardonnays in the range, but all the elements are very much in balance. There is more than enough underlying minerality to support the fruit.
Dark chocolate, mocha, plum and espresso notes abound in the 2011 Legacy Red Wine. There is no shortage of richness and power in the glass, but I don't see the same level of finesse that makes the best Stonestreet wines so compelling. The significant presence of Merlot gives Legacy a softer personality than some of the Stonestreet wines, which can be a plus or a negative, depending on your point of view. Hints of leather, tobacco and savory herbs add complexity to the dark red and black fruit. The 2011 is 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot.
The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Rockfall is huge and explosive on the palate. Dark red and black stone fruits meld into cloves, menthol, new leather, smoke cedar. All the elements are beautifully woven together. The 2011 Rockfall is racy and resonant, but there is plenty of mountain tannin providing support.
The 2012 Sauvignon Blanc Aurora Point flows across the palate with striking depth and pure nuance. Everything falls into place in a beautifully layered white that stands out for its chiseled, perfumed personality. This is a fabulous showing from Graham Weerts.
Apricots, chamomile, light floral honey and sweet spices meld together in the 2012 Chardonnay Bear Point. Silky and layered in the glass, the Bear Point is all about finesse and understatement. The 2012 should drink well for at least a handful of years.
Stonestreet's 2012 Chardonnay Upper Barn is deep, dense and powerful to the core. The personality and character of the Hyde Wente selection planted here comes through in the wine's texture and tropical-infused flavors. Spice, butter and apricot jam add layers of complexity on the finish.
The 2012 Chardonnay is terrific. Dried pears, apricots, white flowers and spices meld together in the glass in a striking, beautifully nuanced Chardonnay to drink now and over the next few years. Beautifully layered and silky throughout, the 2011 impresses for its balance, poise and total sense of harmony.
The 2011 Chardonnay Nine Barrel is very pretty in this vintage. Succulent and layered in the glass, the 2011 is laced with expressive apricot jam, honey, white flowers, spices and mint, all in a silky, resonant style with plenty of near and medium-term appeal.
Juicy dark cherries, mint, licorice, sweet spices and hard candy jump from the glass in the 2011 Pinot Noir Arrendell Vineyard. The style is racy, exuberant and generous, all signatures of the Russian River. A rush of pomegranate, sweet red cherries and rose petals flows through to the finish. The combination of a cool, late ripening, low-yielding site and the Martini Pinot clone (planted in 1975) yield a Pinot of rare distinction and class.