| We recently tasted all of our 1990s Chardonnays and thought collectors
would be interested in the results. In future months we will report
on vintages from earlier decades. If you have some tasting notes you
would like to share with us, please contact us at willinda@stonyhillvineyard.com. |
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1990 Stony
Hill Chardonnay Light gold color. This Chardonnay offers a fruity
bouquet with maturing notes and has a supple, soft, almost creamy
texture on the tongue that is elegant and generous. This is a wine
of great delicacy and one of the most distinguished of the 1990s vintages.
It will begin to develop a hazelnut flavor in the next several years,
so if you particularly like its fruitiness, drink it now. Otherwise,
hold longer while the nutty richness matures. |
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1991 Stony
Hill Chardonnay Light gold color. With a melon-like, fruity Chardonnay
bouquet, this wine also has a touch of honey and a slight toastiness
in the nose. Bright, lemony Chardonnay fruit flavors greet your mouth.
Though the wine is still youthful, it shows complexity in its French-like
mineral quality and acidity and its long, smooth finish. Its integrated
flavors and perfect balance say drink now, but its obvious potential
says hold for another couple of years. |
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1992 Stony
Hill Chardonnay Light gold color. The wine has developed a rich,
fruity bouquet. The well integrated flavors of honeyed, lemony fruit
and a bit of spice give this wine the structure and strength that
the younger wines have yet to develop. It has more weight to it than
is usual due to a huge crop and notably ripe fruit. Drink now. (A
special note: We have regrettably discovered that some of the corks
used in 1992 were faulty. As a result, some bottles in each case could
be oxidized. The remaining bottles of wine, however, are sound and
eminently drinkable.) |
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1993 Stony
Hill Chardonnay Medium straw color. At age nine, this wine has
evolved into a delicate, seamless perfectly balanced Chardonnay. An
intense ripe fruit bottle bouquet introduces it, and its fruity flavors
are beginning to show the characteristic nutty and flinty qualities
of a maturing Stony Hill Chardonnay. Its finish is rich and lingers
on the palate. Enjoy now or hold for several more years. |
|
1994 Stony
Hill Chardonnay Straw color. Pearlike ripeness and honey character
are developing, marking its transition, at age eight, from youth to
maturity. This wine is delicious now, but its richness bodes well
for a long life ahead. |
|
1995 Stony
Hill Chardonnay Medium straw color. The wine has an immaculately
clean, intense Chardonnay nose. Very well balanced now, it is packed
with melon and pear-like flavors. We sense a certain austerity about
this wine still, which promises a long, slow development in the bottle
from a fresh and fruity wine to a rich, mature wine. If you like fruity
Chardonnays, drink now. Otherwise, hold, hold, hold. |
|
1996 Stony
Hill Chardonnay Straw color. An early harvest wine, the 1996 vintage
is richer than many Stony Hill Chardonnays with hints of pineapple
and honey in the nose and in the mouth pear-like fruit flavors are
delicate yet notable. We are delighted at how smooth they are at age
eight. This wine is now moving from youthful exuberance to complexity
and depth. |
|
1997 Stony
Hill Chardonnay Straw color. Lovely fruit characterizes this Stony
Hill vintage from a sun-drenched growing season. Although it has yet
to fully develop a bottle bouquet, its aroma is slightly honeyed and
redolent of sun ripened pears and melons. Its flavors of delicate
Chardonnay fruit are elegant and subtle, with a flinty character followed
by a creamy, lingering aftertaste. With great balance and concentrated
flavors, the 1997 vintage will grow in richness and depth over the
next five to ten years. |
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1998 Stony
Hill Chardonnay Pale straw color This vintage has a brilliant,
light straw color with a hue of white gold through it. Although only
four years old, it is developing a complex aroma filled with perfumed
ripe pears. We note a certain restraint in this wine, which makes
us think it will age as the 1993 has into a delicate, seamless whole.
As you all know, another year in the cellar will allow the flavors
to mellow and richness to develop. |
|
1999 Stony
Hill Chardonnay Pale straw color. The 1999 vintage is graced
with a larger percentage of grapes from our favorite vineyards than
any wine since 1979. These vineyards were originally planted in 1947
and replanted in 1988. The vines were thirteen years old at harvest
and their grapes have added a complex richness to the wine that makes
it delicious to drink right now, but which also promises long aging.
The 1999 vintage produced notably ripe fruit, yet the wine still has
the flinty character of Stony Hill Chardonnays and palest straw color,
which is typical of all our wines. We think that you will find this
wine more immediately accessible than the 1998 vintage, which will
remain austere for a longer period of time. |
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| Please note that all the wines
tasted for these notes came from our temperature controlled cellar
at the winery where they have been stored since they were bottled.
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