Very fresh & intense, spicy, black currant inviting aromas. Lovely depth of fruit. This is a wine full of character, rich, spicy, firm tannins & excellent balance of weight. Good length. Will keep.

Forward dried-cherry and cedar aromas; massive tinnins, concentrated fruit flavors, good texture…

Seep and sweet nose. Burst of acidity on the palate, with quite drying tannins, but still fruit in support.

…it shows off well-integrated cherry and raspberry fruit, oak and tannins in a very drinkable, likeable package. It would be an excellent complement to grilled or roasted vegetables hearty seafood dishes like caramelized scallops.

Stonestreet's '95 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon holds true to form, intense and brooding, yet sculpted with even greater elegance than past editions.

Spicy, ripe fruit; balanced.

If lead a bit by its very rich, appealing creamy oak, this well-filled wine has a fine reserve of optimally ripened fruit and lots of weedy qualities that keep it squarely on the proper varietal track. It is almost layered in flavor, and, in the mouth, shows a fine sense of balance along with its very ample impressions of size and substance. Very long at the finish, with neatly placed fruity acids providing brightness and buoyancy, this full-blown effort will pair comfortably with flavorful dishes ranging from swordfish to salmon to lightly herbed poultry.

With a solid impression of well-ripened fruit the central theme of both its nicely focused aromas and substantial, slightly juicy flavors, this fleshy Cabernet is ling on richness, weight and staying power. And ,if sporting a full dose of toasty oak as a prominent player, it never veers too far from its curranty, ripe-plum essentials. It is at once both slightly supple and yet youthfully tannic and will benefit from several years of cellaring.

Mr. Test calls the 1995 the best cabernet sauvignon Stonestreet has made. Dark purple color, ripe plum, cassis flavors, smoky oak and an herbal nose. Blended with a little cabernet franc, a favorite of the winemaker.

Thick, sweet fruit; tannic.

Intriguing aromas of black cherries, vanilla, olive and sweet coffee make for a fine start here, and much of the richness and complexity of the nose is echoed by the wine's ripe and open flavors.

Grilled meats, toasty oak and black fruit on the nose. A good concentration of black fruit on the palate; well balanced. (Also appeared 9/98 issue.)

Grilled meats, toasty oak and black fruit on the nose. A good concentration of black fruit on the palate; well balanced.

Plush yet intense. A hint of barnyard in the aroma, but it works. Flavors are dense, hard to penetrate and the oak seems harsh.

The impressively concentrated Stonestreet 1993 Legacy is a show-stopping effort that is guaranteed to get even better with time.

The complex, concentrated aromas are simply brimming sweet oak while still showing bouncy fruit qualities. Rich on the palate without ever edging toward heaviness despite its ample girth, the wine delivers a handsome array of black cherry and currant fruit in its appealing oak-enriched flavors. Noticeably tannic yet supple underneath, this generous wine will age well for half a decade or more.

Among slightly bigger, slightly rugged Cabernets that have the stuff for years of successful cellaring, the broad, impressively extracted Stonestreet 1993 are easy to recommend.

Cassis flavors are well rendered, and such velvety Alexander Valley character is surely always a pleasure to encounter.

Smelling of ripe cherries with hints of dark chocolate buttressed by sweet, creamy oak in the nose, the wine is full in body and reasonably outgoing in its ripe black cherry fruit. This big and rich bottling offers Cabernet in a distinctly heady, unrefined style.

The best yet.

This lithe, medium-bodied effort wines plaudits for its refinement and engaging young fruit.

Medium-bodied and forward with rich black cherry, currant and plum flavors. Mineral and mild herbal notes help balance the fruit and provide complexity and interest.

It is 89 percent cabernet sauvignon, 11 percent merlot from those 20-year-old vines, fermented more than a month and aged 20 months in French oak barrels, 41 percent of which are new. The wine has brilliant blackberry color, a delicate, perfumy aroma of cedar and plums, flavor that is bursting with fruit, packed with sweet tannins and nicely balanced with crisp acid.