3/2/2024 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Very pretty Pinot from one of our favorite South Coast producers. The color is deep purple. Nose light, unassuming. Taste begins with a nice balance of fruit and acidity. Moderately complex flavors, mostly fruit with a bit of earth and hardwood. Medium finish. Just overall nicely crafted.

11/22/2023 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Still going strong 20 years in. Slight brick coloring but inky purple in the bowl. Plenty fruity and earthy aromas. Lush mouthfeel, tannins rounded but present. Pretty high alcohol level (14.5%!) but not overblown. Not going to win any awards for subtlety, but a very good well-aged wine and perfect with a hearty, beefy meal.

8/17/2023 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Blackberry bramble cassis caterwaul! Nice, still plenty tannins, rounded edges

8/2/2023 - fredshouse wrote:

Lovely, bright, fruity, earthy, complex, profile pretty similar to when we tried it in 2017, very much in the zone here in 2023

7/4/2023 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Gorgeous wine, bold fruit and subtle earthiness, mellowed with age into a lovely melange. Rewards time in the glass.

1/31/2023 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Pleasantly surprised by this wine! Deep inky purple with a complex nose of black fruits, tobacco and gravel. Huge burst of flavor in the mouth, balanced between fruit and earthy vegetal and tobacco notes. Not so refined, but exuberant and with distinctive character. Tannins nicely rounded and softened, but plenty of acidity carries it through to a long mouthwatering finish.

11/1/2022 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Incredible deep golden color, bit past prime but still a lovely and pure expression of the Stony Hill vision

10/11/2022 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Really lovely all around!

10/10/2022 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Maybe the best FAY I’ve had the pleasure of knowing

8/30/2022 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Excellent Riesling from a favorite maker. Pure, delicate, perfectly balanced between lightly sweet fruit and firm acidity, with a nice mineral backbone. Really nice.

5/21/2022 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

This was in a very nice place, rich and fruit forward, mellowed tannins, characteristic chocolate syrup, mineral, long finish. Lovely.

3/26/2022 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

This Memorius has a light, earthy nose leading to flavors of lean, tight red fruit and complex spices, finishing long and tart. Lots of potential here over the next 5 years!

3/16/2022 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Really nice chard, crisp, pretty nose, nice fruit, not too oaky, good balance, med finish

3/6/2022 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Was curious to try this but should have waited another 5+ years. Plenty of lovely flavors developing, but the tannins are still too firm and sharp.

2/7/2022 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

A lovely rich cab in classic Husic style. Deep purple, almost black color, with some fine sediment thrown. Dark fruit nose with clove, oak and wet stone. Blackberry, cherry, black currants, tobacco over firm tannins. Sensation of thickness, slightly sweet. Long resonant finish. Big but not overblown. A fave.

1/1/2022 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

This wine has a lovely deep inky purple color, throwing moderately heavy sediment in the neck. Nose of black fruit, cloves and roasted meat. Blackberry, black currant, orange peel, plenty of bright acidity and a touch of gravel. Tannins are rounded but firm. Syrupy thick feel we’ve come to expect from Husic’s cabs. Long tart finish. Not the most balanced wine, but very enjoyable.

12/3/2021 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Nice single vineyard bottling from Goldeneye. Lovely red-purple color. Nose of raspberry, gooseberry and autumn leaves. Full of bright red fruit and earthy gravelly tones, firm rounded tannin, moderate finish. Enjoyable.

11/25/2021 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

A nice older soldier tonight. 2001 seems so long ago… on opening, we find heavy crystalline sediment on the cork. Deep purple in the glass, no sign of bricking. Nose is fruity, dusty and clove. First impression, very mellow, tannins fully resolved, nice boysenberry and black currant flavors, with hints of autumn spices and gravel. After a couple hours the wine opened up nicely, aromatic and opulent, a lovely well-aged bottle. Probably a few years past it’s peak, but still excellent.

11/3/2021 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Nice nose of fruit and earthy tobacco-y funk. Flavors ok not great. Like it though

10/30/2021 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

This nice bottle should have been in its prime… On opening the nose showed nicely but a strong acidic streak marred the flavor. After a loooong rest the acid calmed down and revealed a good, but not great, profile of dark fruits, aromatic spices and gravel. Plenty of life left and we enjoyed it, but it did not compare to some of the nicer bottles others have reviewed here.

9/11/2021 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Still yum

8/27/2021 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

A nice old Merlot, one of the earliest bottlings from Silver Oak spinout Twomey. Initial impressions: substantial sediment, moderately brick orange color, with nose of dusty raisins and bell pepper. Plenty of fruit and acidity. After an hour of breathing, color is trending back to ruby, flavor is more complex, with black cherry, blackberry, gooseberry, aromatic wood, mineral; firm yet mellowed with age. Not perfectly integrated, but quite nice.

8/7/2021 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Intense nose, all wet stones and gravel over deep red fruit. Rich blend of fruit, mineral and acid, slightly bitter austerity, a contradiction on the tongue. Long earthy finish. Quite interesting and nice tonight.

6/14/2021 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Deep inky purple in the glass, almost black. Aromatic nose of bruised black fruits and wet stone. Intense fruit and firm tannic structure with a strong mineral backbone. Long sweet and tart finish. Very enjoyable Franc, in good years, one of my favorite Duckhorns.

6/5/2021 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Pale golden honey in the glass, fruity nose, straightforward fruit flavors of apricot, apple, citrus, muted tones of gravel and stone. Long finish, somewhat sweet aftertaste. No butter ;-)

5/29/2021 - fredshouse wrote:

Earthy, mineraly, dusky ripe raspberry currant, really lovely

3/20/2021 - fredshouse Does not like this wine:

Lots of color and fruit, but totally overpowered by acidity.

3/17/2021 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Gorgeous golden color, restrained nose of fruit and mineral, lush fruit and crisp acidity in the mouth. A complex, attractive wine from start to finish.

2/23/2021 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Inky purple, dark fruit and pencil lead, intense and chewy

2/5/2021 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Delicious. Clear reddish purple in the glass. Reserved nose, slight red currant and a strong mineral aroma. Rich but balanced attack on the palate, red and purple fruits, mild acidity, spicy peppery on the tongue with a moderate finish, slightly sweet and syrupy.

1/13/2021 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

It’s the middle of winter, but this summery rose of Cab brought a smile to my face. True to the Stony Hill style, it presents itself unpretentiously, with crisp acidity and straightforward Cabernet flavors. Very nice!

11/27/2020 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

This ‘96 has been in our cellar for more than 20 years, and patience paid off. A lovely aged cab with still-vibrant fruit and moderate acidity rounded off by age. A bit brown on first pour, but returned to rich purple after some air time. Lots of fine sediment clinging to the shoulders. Mature, dusty fruit nose. Plum, blackberry, cherry flavors, with a hint of tawny port and earthy wood. Long sweet finish. Very very nice.

11/18/2020 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Another lovely bottle of Sea Smoke. Today we have a light, clear reddish purple glass of Pinot, with an intense spicy red currant, sweet apple and pleasant barnyard-y nose. Crisp acidity with focused currant and raspberry fruit, spice, cedar and gravel give way to a long, lingering tart sweetness at the finish.

11/7/2020 - fredshouse wrote:

Been saving this for a special occasion, and the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris fit the bill. Was a bit concerned when the cork crumbled on extraction, but fortunately the wine held strong. A lovely color gradient from inky to light purple in the glass. Nose of dark fruits and caramelization. Still-firm, rounded tannins over mellow blackberry, oak and a hint of wet stones. Not overly complicated. Long, relatively sweet finish.

10/6/2020 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Inky purple aspect, luminous magenta edge. Intense aromas of blackberry and cedar. Lush black fruit with chocolate and mineral overtones. Plenty of structure. Pleasant finish goes on and on. Not subtle, but very enjoyable.

8/15/2020 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Rich, fruity, well structured chard with mild spices and a nice mineral undertone. Very nice alone and with comfort food.

8/6/2020 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Very nice.

7/30/2020 - fredshouse wrote:

This bottle a bit past it’s prime but still quite good. Deep color, almost cab-like, with a fair bit of sediment thrown. Subdued nose of black fruit. Lush blackberry and woodland flavors, but a touch of bitterness creeping in. Medium finish. I’ve always loved these early Twomey merlots for their intensity and structure. Thinking back, 2006 seems like a lifetime ago.

6/20/2020 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Such a nice gewurz, just lovely

6/13/2020 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Excellent!

6/7/2020 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Another delicious Goldeneye Pinot. Tart cherries, blackberries, that characteristic.strong note of gravel/wet stones that the 2013s seem to carry, peppery, cloves. Lush.

5/17/2020 - fredshouse wrote:

Shot through with a bitter acidity. No amount of decant/aeration made any difference. Pau.

5/16/2020 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Drank this bottle over a couple of weeks, stored in fridge between glasses. Surprisingly it was at its best toward the end. Nice deep claret color, just a hint of brick. Rich nose of fruit and spices. The first few days, it had a bit of sharpness that overshadowed the flavor, but at the last it was smooth, mellowed, still lush with fruit, a solid base of minerality. Pretty clearly running out of steam, but happy we stuck with this older soldier.

3/17/2020 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Very nice bottle from a tricky vintage.

2/21/2020 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Medium purple-red color with some sediment thrown. Nose of spicy red and black fruits. Rich taste of blackberry, gooseberry, tart red currant, wet stone. Solid tannic structure despite its age. Plenty of life left in this lovely Daniel Baron joint, one of the great California merlots.

2/1/2020 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

From the Goldeneye club. Pale claret in color, with a delicate earthy nose. Splashy red fruit greets the tongue, with notes of caramel and gravel. Nice.

1/21/2020 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Pale golden in the glass, delicate nose, explosion of flavors on the palate. Pear, honeysuckle, mineral and dry grass, with a backbone of acidity. Long finish, slightly spicy. Classic Stony Hill purity — the wine takes center stage, not the oak. Very nice.

1/12/2020 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Well-aged with still-firm structure and tannins. Deep purple, some sediment. Rich black fruits, some minerality. Very nice overall.

12/3/2019 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

This 2016 SSS is turning out nicely. Complex nose of strawberry, cherry, raspberry and gravel. Rich fruit on the palate balanced with almost austere minerality and acidity. Long finish. Love where this wine is rn.

11/19/2019 - fredshouse Likes this wine:

Classic Stony Hill, all about the pure natural fruit. Nose of apricot, honey and gravel. Crisp delicate fruit flavors with a backbone of minerality and firm acidity. Medium finish with nice complexity in the resolution.