2007 Crocker & Starr Cabernet Sauvignon Stone Place
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Tasting notes
(80% new oak): Bright medium ruby. Expressive nose conveys an alluring exotic quality to the aromas of cassis, cocoa powder and spices; very Cabernet Sauvignon! At once plush and youthfully medicinal, offering concentrated, opulent yet nicely vinous flavors of black cherry and dark chocolate lifted by a floral quality. This wonderfully balanced, sweet/savory wine may not have quite the class of the '06 but it's approachable now and should remain at this level for at least another ten years. The finish is very long, with chewy, horizontal tannins and lingering notes of chocolate and dried tarragon to go with its still-primary fruit flavors. Pam Starr described 2007 as "a more typically Napa Valley growing season with some heat spikes and a warm finish," adding that 2006 featured a cooler end to the vintage, while 2005 was more classic, 2004 had a hot finish and 2003 witnessed extreme heat spikes.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
(14.5% alcohol): Bright medium ruby. Aromas of blueberry and blackberry pastille are complemented and lifted by flowers, licorice and tobacco leaf. This energetic, sharply delineated yet seductively sweet wine shows the lift and floral complexity of Cabernet Sauvignon at its best. A superb vintage for this wine, with the vinosity, density, depth and balance for a long and graceful evolution in bottle. The finishing flavors of blackberry and licorice go on and on.
Perhaps the best wine I have ever tasted from Crocker & Starr is the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Stone Place. One hundred percent Cabernet Sauvignon aged 20 months in French oak, this 500- to 550-case cuvee from the organically managed Stone Place Vineyard is a dense ruby/purple color, with a classic nose of unsmoked cigar tobacco intermixed with blackberries, licorice, subtle barbecue smoke, and cassis. A gorgeous, full-bodied texture, excellent purity, and well-integrated acidity, wood, and tannin all make for a thrilling wine to drink over the next 15-20+ years. Tel. (707) 967-9111; Fax (707) 967-9611