Rank Number 65 - 91 Points
Terra A Lago, Block 4 vineyard is in California's southern Alexander Valley and is the source for much of Murphy Goode's finest Cabernet fruit. This reserve-level Cabernet Sauvignon bursts with boysenberry aroma wrapped in toasty oak and layers of complex earthy, plumy, smoky goodness. The palate is rich with black cherry and blueberry flavors tightly held by firm tannins and notes of vanilla and bacon on the finish. Calling all meats from the grill!
The Terra A Lago Vineyard, off the Alexander Valley's southern bench is the winery's prime cab real estate. a dark-colored bold and highly concentrated wine with lots of dark fruit, it should age very well.
Here's a nice, rich white wine. It gets the Chard job done in a direct way, offering creamy flavors of pineapples, peaches, pears, vanilla bean and buttered toast, along with mouthwatering acidity. Tastes a little sweet, but it's really easy to drink.
Top Pick - An elegant pinot noir with layered flavors of cherry, plum, mushroom and spice. Great high-toned fruit. Balanced.
One of the most improved producers in California. La Crema is making excellent pinot noir for a great price. Lots of forward cherry fruit fun with toasted oak and spice notes.
The vineyard in Fulton, a cool part of the southeastern valley heavily influenced by fog, and the vines are about 100 years old. This is great, classic Zinfandel. It should be in a museum. Despite high alcohol, it has a silky, Pinot-esque suppleness, balanced with crisp acids, and is profoundly rich in Zinny flavor. Currants, mushu plum sauce, anise, crushed black pepper, dark chocolate and rich Asian spices last forever on the finish.
The Cabernet Sauvignon really sticks out, with its cassis flavors and big, tough tannins. Meanwhile, new oak adds lush layers of smoke, woodspice and buttered toast. The result is a tough young wine that needs time, and possibly lots. Don't think of opening it before 2011, and it should develop for many more years. Potentially great.
Rank Number 11 - 94 Points
Based on Cabernet Sauvignon, this Bordeaux blend is very fine, but young. It needs time to allow the aggressive tannins to resolve and for the blackberry, black currant and herb flavors to emerge. New oak adds a sweet smokiness that will become an integral part of the final wine.
Editors Choice - This is the best Pinot Noir at this price on the market. Easily. It's picture-perfect cool climate, absolutely dry and silky, with complex flavors of cherries, Mandarin orange, cola, pomegranates, licorice and cinnamon spice, made even richer by smoky oak. Just lovely, and gets even better as it breathes in the glass.
Rank Number 28 - 93 Points
Not ready for drinking now. Shows youthfully aggressive tannins and forward flavors of blackberries, currants, herbs and unintegrated new oak, making it the least satisfactory of Stonestreet's impressive new releases if you're looking for something now. Seems like it will make a very fine bottle after 2011 or so.
This vineyard has a long, distinguished history, even before it passed into Jackson Family's hands. It's a great mountain property, yielding focused, concentrated flavors of tropical fruits that are well oaked. There's also a firm minerality. One of the few Chards that can age.
This is a first release from the winery's estate vineyard, high atop the Mayacamas Mountains overlooking Alexander Valley. It's intense and concentrated in pineapple crème brûée, peach purée, green apple, honeysuckle and smoky sandalwood flavors, undergirded with a firm minerality. Delicious and compelling, and should develop over the next six years.
There's an earthy, loamy feel to the tannins of this wine, buried under fresh, floral, fruit-skin tension. The fruit itself is juicy and firm, held tight by the tannin, opening to a supple cabernet texture and flavor that will meld well with rack of lamb.
A beautiful Cabernet, made in an elegantly approachable way. Dry and smooth, it shows complex flavors of blackberries, currants and dried herbs, wrapped into rich, dusty tannins. The alcohol level is quite high, but balanced, in a California way.
Rank Number 46 - 92 Points
A beautiful Bordeaux blend, rich and flavorful, brimming with blackberries, black currants, black cherries, herbs and new oak. Feels fine and elegant in the mouth. Ready now for its elegant approachability, but has the tannic structure to age through 2014. Right up there with Stonestreet's more expensive wines, which makes it a comparative value.