Stony Hill

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Stony Hill 2000 Semillon du Soleil Sémillon (Napa Valley)

Price $15

Here’s dessert in a glass. Smells apricotty and botrytisy and vanilla-honeyed, and drinks rich in nectar. This makes it sound astoundingly sweet, but it’s not. Tastes like sautéed bananas, caramelized in butter, flamed in amaretto, and served on top of vanilla ice cream. — S.H. (5/1/2005)

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Stony Hill 1997 Chardonnay (Napa Valley)

Price $24

Young, with apple, peach and anise notes. Tight, elegant, remarkably fresh and lively, it’s steely and clean. Has great balance and intensity. Stony Hill’s Chards are among the longest-lived in the state, and this very fine wine from a great vintage should improve for years, possibly decades. — S.H. (2/1/2000)

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Stony Hill 1999 Chardonnay (Napa Valley)

Price $27

A superb Chard, very much in the Stony Hill tradition. Tight, appley fruit with high (by Napa standards) acidity creates a taut wine made fatter and sweeter by the judicious use of oak. This is a sleek, elegant Chard that, judging by its track record, will age and improve effortlessly over the next decade. —S.H. — S.H. (5/1/2002)

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Stony Hill 2001 Chardonnay (Napa Valley)

Price $27

Stony Hill Chards are famous for their longevity, but the price of that is hardness in youth. This is a mineral-laden, acidic young wine. The fruit has barely begun clawing its way to the surface. I’ve had Stony Hill Chards at 20-plus years of age and they were fabulous. Best after 2010. — S.H. (5/1/2005)

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Stony Hill 2005 Chardonnay (Napa Valley)

Cellar Selection

Price $36

Here’s one of those rare California Chards that needs time. The wine is tight, tough and minerally in its youth, with an austerity of flavors suggesting Meyer lemons, nectarines and flint. Bone dry and crisp, it should blossom between 2008 and 2015, with proper cellaring. — S.H. (2/1/2008)

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Stony Hill 1998 Chardonnay (Napa Valley)

One of California's longest-lived Chards, this mountain wine always starts out tight and lemon-spicy, with bracing acidity. Sprightly and drinkable now, with dry, citrusy flavors and sweet oaky vanillans, it will improve with many years of cellaring. — S.H. (12/1/2001)

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Stony Hill 2000 White Riesling (Napa Valley)

Best Buy

Price $15

Made since 1957, always rich, complex and steely, and one of the state’s great agers, this year’s release is an extraordinary Riesling. Its flowery, peach and jasmine aromas and flavors and streak of mineral are delicately perched between dry and off-dry. Zesty acidity provides vital balance. — S.H. (6/1/2002)

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Stony Hill 2000 Gewürztraminer (Napa Valley)

Price $15

Smells like a walk through a candy shop filled with gingerbread cookies, vanilla wafers and white chocolate fudge. Oh, and there’s a flower shop next door, which explains the honeysuckle and gardenia. Yet it’s dry and crisp, and the flavors are modestly citrus and apricot. Elegant and foodworthy. — S.H. (6/1/2002)

Most Reviewed Designations

Semillon du Soleil

Most Reviewed Varietals

Chardonnay Gewürztraminer Sémillon White Riesling

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