The relatively limited production, opaque purple-colored 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Christopher’s Vineyard (100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 21 months in French oak) is a tannic, massive beast of a wine. Extremely full-bodied, dense, extracted, and backward, this 40-50-year wine requires at least 8-10 years of patience. I’m not sure how many consumers have the requisite discipline for wines such a this, but it’s good to see they are still being made, and future generations will appreciate the effort. These are far and away the most impressive group of Stonestreet Alexander Mountain estate wines I have ever tasted. Kudos to proprietor Jess Jackson and winemakers Graham Weerts and Marcia Monahan for exploiting this high elevation terroir. This has been a work-in-progress for Jackson, and he has finally hit paydirt with the following wines. Readers need to pay close attention as there are some amazing Chardonnays as well as red wines emerging from Stonestreet. There are seven distinctive cuvees of Chardonnay, ranging in production from 185 cases of Red Point, to 660 cases of Lower Rim. All of these super-impressive efforts come from elevations of 900 to 1,800 feet. I tasted one Merlot and seven Cabernet Sauvignons, and as readers can tell, these are also impressive wines. Production ranges from approximately 250 cases of the single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons (the only exception being the 5,000-case cuvee of Cabernet Sauvignon Monument Ridge). Tel. (800) 355-8008; Fax (707) 433-9469

Grown in a portion of the winery’s considerable holdings in the high Mayacamas range, this Cabernet is ridiculously rich and flamboyant in black currant flavors, wrapped into the ripest, densest, sweetest tannins imaginable. Exceptionally vibrant, intense and compact, it will develop bottle complexity for a good 15 years. ——S.H.(5/1/2011)—— 96