Open 11:00am-4:30pm
Appt required? Yes on Tues-Thurs; no on all other days
Last barlinwine.com visit: 2010
Tasting:
There were a few things that caused me to set up a tasting at Stonestreet Vineyards: their reputation for premium chardonnay and cabernet, their proximity to Hawkes (we had originally planned to visit Hawkes -- a Barlin favorite -- the same day), and their offer to let you design a custom tasting for yourself. I called in advance, made an appointment, and talked through the tasting I wanted to do (1-2 single-vineyard chards, followed by 5 of their red wines).
We arrived at the vineyard, and followed a long winding road to get to the tasting room. A few minutes before we got there, a bus full of people had arrived, and so the tasting room was packed. We sneaked in a side door and saw a second room set with three sets of 7 glasses. Could this be for us?
Well, sure enough it was. I was mildly annoyed that my "custom tasting" wasn't custom at all, but that annoyance quickly dissipated. Set in front of us were four single-vineyard Chardonnays, their proprietary Bordeaux-style blend Legacy, and 2 single-vineyard Cabs. We started, of course with the Chardonnay.
We tried the Red Point, Broken Road, Upper Barn, and Gravel Bench Chardonnays. All were produced in the classic buttery, California style, and all tasted relatively similar with subtle differences. For both Steph and I, the Red Point stood out. It was perhaps the least complex, but it was soft and creamy and by comparison seemed to call out the mild roughness of the others. The Upper Barn was a close second, with the Broken Road and Gravel Bench bringing up the rear. As noted, though, all were drinkable and purchase-worthy (although pricey).
We moved on from there to reds. The Legacy was TANNIC, and I wished that they had placed it at the end of the tasting. The wine was good, structured, but at $75 a bit overpriced in my opinion. And it temporarily destroyed my palette. I found myself thinking it would be interesting to try it in 7-10 years -- the structure was there, the fruit was delicious, but it was chewier than a wookie.
This was something consistent with all of the reds we tried: lengthy cellaring is recommended for Stonestreet! After chewing through a few bites of the Legacy, I tried the 2005 Black Cougar Ridge single vineyard Cabernet and the 2005 Christopher's Vineyard Cabernet. Both impressed, but again, 5 years old and both were still a bit tight. The Black Cougar Ridge is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, while the Christopher is 91% cab mixed with 9% Syrah. Interesting. For immediate drinkability, the Christopher won for me; but I again found myself wondering how these might taste in 5-7 years.
Enter Caleb, our host for the tasting. I happened to notice that they were offering vertical packs of the Black Cougar Ridge covering 1999-2002. I asked Caleb if any of these were open, and they weren't, but he offered to open whatever I wanted to try. Well, I wanted to try them all! But given it was the end of the day, I told him any of them would be fine. He came back with 2 bottles: a 1999 Black Cougar Ridge and a 2002 Black Cougar Ridge. 1999 has always held a special place in my heart -- I think it was a great year for Napa Cab, and so I was prepared to love this wine (even if it was from the other side of the mountain). But it turned out that the 2002 stole the show. Still retaining its structure, the tannins had softened allowing the fruit to come to the forefront and followed with a long, smooth finish. This was a wine worth the price tag.
We polished off our tastings, and closed out with a purchase. The earlier switch on the custom tasting was forgotten, and we were ready to leave happy and impressed when Caleb says, "Oh, did we settle up for the tasting?" I must have given him the look of death, because he quickly recanted, writing it off to his "failure to mention the cost of the tasting over the phone". Tasting saved, Caleb...BARELY. Overall, the Stonestreet tasting was high quality, with only a few rough edges to smooth out. All of the wines were overpriced, but with age, I can see how some of them could stand up to the price tag.
There were a few things that caused me to set up a tasting at Stonestreet Vineyards: their reputation for premium chardonnay and cabernet, their proximity to Hawkes (we had originally planned to visit Hawkes -- a Barlin favorite -- the same day), and their offer to let you design a custom tasting for yourself. I called in advance, made an appointment, and talked through the tasting I wanted to do (1-2 single-vineyard chards, followed by 5 of their red wines).
We arrived at the vineyard, and followed a long winding road to get to the tasting room. A few minutes before we got there, a bus full of people had arrived, and so the tasting room was packed. We sneaked in a side door and saw a second room set with three sets of 7 glasses. Could this be for us?
Well, sure enough it was. I was mildly annoyed that my "custom tasting" wasn't custom at all, but that annoyance quickly dissipated. Set in front of us were four single-vineyard Chardonnays, their proprietary Bordeaux-style blend Legacy, and 2 single-vineyard Cabs. We started, of course with the Chardonnay.
We tried the Red Point, Broken Road, Upper Barn, and Gravel Bench Chardonnays. All were produced in the classic buttery, California style, and all tasted relatively similar with subtle differences. For both Steph and I, the Red Point stood out. It was perhaps the least complex, but it was soft and creamy and by comparison seemed to call out the mild roughness of the others. The Upper Barn was a close second, with the Broken Road and Gravel Bench bringing up the rear. As noted, though, all were drinkable and purchase-worthy (although pricey).
We moved on from there to reds. The Legacy was TANNIC, and I wished that they had placed it at the end of the tasting. The wine was good, structured, but at $75 a bit overpriced in my opinion. And it temporarily destroyed my palette. I found myself thinking it would be interesting to try it in 7-10 years -- the structure was there, the fruit was delicious, but it was chewier than a wookie.
This was something consistent with all of the reds we tried: lengthy cellaring is recommended for Stonestreet! After chewing through a few bites of the Legacy, I tried the 2005 Black Cougar Ridge single vineyard Cabernet and the 2005 Christopher's Vineyard Cabernet. Both impressed, but again, 5 years old and both were still a bit tight. The Black Cougar Ridge is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, while the Christopher is 91% cab mixed with 9% Syrah. Interesting. For immediate drinkability, the Christopher won for me; but I again found myself wondering how these might taste in 5-7 years.Enter Caleb, our host for the tasting. I happened to notice that they were offering vertical packs of the Black Cougar Ridge covering 1999-2002. I asked Caleb if any of these were open, and they weren't, but he offered to open whatever I wanted to try. Well, I wanted to try them all! But given it was the end of the day, I told him any of them would be fine. He came back with 2 bottles: a 1999 Black Cougar Ridge and a 2002 Black Cougar Ridge. 1999 has always held a special place in my heart -- I think it was a great year for Napa Cab, and so I was prepared to love this wine (even if it was from the other side of the mountain). But it turned out that the 2002 stole the show. Still retaining its structure, the tannins had softened allowing the fruit to come to the forefront and followed with a long, smooth finish. This was a wine worth the price tag.
We polished off our tastings, and closed out with a purchase. The earlier switch on the custom tasting was forgotten, and we were ready to leave happy and impressed when Caleb says, "Oh, did we settle up for the tasting?" I must have given him the look of death, because he quickly recanted, writing it off to his "failure to mention the cost of the tasting over the phone". Tasting saved, Caleb...BARELY. Overall, the Stonestreet tasting was high quality, with only a few rough edges to smooth out. All of the wines were overpriced, but with age, I can see how some of them could stand up to the price tag.
Recommended wine: I thought the single vineyard Chardonnays were all good, with my preference being the Red Point, but not twice as good as a Frank Family or Ramey Chardonnay. The Black Cougar Ridge Cabernet was the better wine of the two single vineyard Cabs, but the Christopher may have been slightly tastier right now. For the patient among us, the Black Cougar Ridge is my recommendation, and of the 3 years I tried, I thought 2002 was the best.
Ratings (out of 5):
 WINE | 4.50 |  TASTING ROOM | 4.75 |
 ATMOSPHERE | 4.25 |  VALUE | 3.25 |
 OVERALL | 4.19 | ||
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