“Smells like Stony Hill Chardonnay to me,” said Peter McCrea as he evaluated the 2005 vintage, which has in abundance all of the qualities that have distinguished our Chardonnay for fifty-three years. For those of you new to Stony Hill, think, minerality and intense fruit flavors of apple, pear and citrus. For longtime fans, Winemaker Mike Chelini’s description of the wine will resonate. For him the 2005 has a lean, intense Burgundian quality with a strong presence in the mouth and an extraordinary finish. It reminds him of the 2001 vintage but with more intensity, a bit of toasty complexity and a hint of lime peel in the finish. These flavors are typical of the fruit from our #1 and #2 fields, our favorite producers. This is a distinguished wine, and my personal take on it can be summed up in three words: ELEGANCE, FLAVOR, FINISH!