Hello berserkers!
I took my sister and her fiance up to Stony Hill for a tasting recently, and I have to say that we were all impressed, which is a lot considering my guests are not really wine enthusiasts (and I’m … me).
While I am normally not a fan of winery tours, I was happy to walk around Stony Hill to get a sense of just how challenging the vineyards must be to manage (I think “hill” is an understatement - it’s somewhere between hill and “mountain”). It was also fascinating to see the super-old (I believe “historic” might be a better word) equipment, barrels, and processes. Coming away from that tour, there was almost this vague idea of “hey! maybe even I could do this!”. Of course, that’s probably just because Galen tells the story with such a positive outlook that the years of sweat, blood, tears, and toil were minimized. Long story short: they’ve been making their whites the same way for decades, and they have the barrels to prove it.
I have to say that the whites were quite refreshing - I enjoyed each, including the double-chard comparison - it really gave a sense of what their wines look like with a few years of age ('09 vs. '13). I found the zip of the '13 chard to be quite addictive - very nice! They were out of rose (it’s ok - I pre-bought a few bottles a week earlier when I made the initial appointment), so a review of that is coming.
The '12 cab was a surprisingly different animal. Now I know that around here, everyone is well-aware of just how un-oaked, un-over-the-top this wine is, but I’m not sure I was prepared for it. It was a cab of a whole new light, one with a brightness and acidity that I’m not sure I’ve ever had before. The splash of fruit was so red! It was served a bit warmer than I would have preferred (it was 100 degrees outside), so I’d be interested to see what the profile would be like if a bit cooler. I guess I’ll have to wait to '13 to buy more new vintages, as the '12 is sold out (aside from magnums).
Overall, an educational visit for sure, with a great story-teller and fun wines. We’ll see how things shape up with the bottles I drink not in the uber-picturesque surroundings of the vineyard.
