2011 Crocker & Starr Cabernet Sauvignon Stone Place
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Tasting notes
(the first vintage to include some Petit Verdot; aged in 85% new oak): Fresh ruby-red color. Lightly medicinal, chocolatey nose comes across as a bit diffuse, with hints of flowers and rhubarb emerging with air. Supple and easygoing but not particularly primary, showing garrigue , cedar and spice notes plus some blackcurrant and licorice that may come from the addition of Petit Verdot. A wine of modest dimension and mid-palate depth, not to mention sweetness of fruit. Finishes with fairly light tannins, a touch of greenness and moderate length. This should evolve relatively quickly. Pam Starr described 2011 as a very challenging vintage due to long rainy spells along with some almost tropical conditions in October; the team picked quickly but precisely at the end, using needle-nose clippers to eliminate berries that had been split by the moisture and were starting to rot and then doing further sorting on a vibrating table.
Critic scores
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Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
(includes 5% petit verdot, which Pam Starr says "chested up the cabernet sauvignon but is keeping the wine slow to open"): Bright medium ruby. Complex aromas of cassis, plum, violet, dark chocolate and espresso accented by a peppery element. An intensely flavored, pungent midweight, with peppery acidity enlivening the dark berry, violet and spice flavors. Finishes with tongue-dusting tannins and good mineral persistence. Starr finds this wine "massive," but today it strikes me as tight and shut down. She notes that the addition of 5% 2012 juice contributed to the wine's floral component.
The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Stone Place is a huge, massive wine, almost unnaturally so considering the vintage. Black fruit, smoke, French oak and spices all flesh out in a rich, voluptuous wine with tons of intensity and massive tannins. Frankly, this is a hard wine to understand.
Good medium ruby-red. Aromas of blackberry, licorice, pepper and tar, complemented by spicy oak. A supple, silky midweight with a seamless texture to its black fruit, spice and peppery herb flavors. Sweeter than the cabernet franc, with more stuffing to support its building tannins. Pam Starr planned to bottle in August; this wine was only racked after the malolactic fermentation, which is typically late here.