(wine note)

2007 Stoller Vineyards
Pinot Blanc
Lean, clean, and white in nature, from white blossoms like jasmine to pear, white peach, guava, or honeydew melon fruits, this is Pinot Blanc without a hint of ordinariness. From the minerality and white-fruit entry, the acidity of 2007 carries the wine though spices of Christmas hard candy, licorice, and eau de vie. There is citrus and a nice sweetness balance. A great food wine and ager.

(wine note)

2007 Reserve Dry Riesling
Riesling vintages can hardly be better than this one, so expect a lot from this wine. It’s all about brightness and spice, with great acid and minerality, accented by baking spices of vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and fleshed out by white fruit flavors of pear and apple. Light yellow to gold in color, the wine is about tightly wound richness, with a broad palate and great weight, and, above all, rests on an impeccable, stimulating foundation of great acid. Perfect balance. Nigh onto perfect representation of the best white wine.

(wine note)

2007 3 Vineyard Pinot Noir
An intense, red-fruited pinot with hints of black tea, smoke, and warm brown spices such as clove, nutmeg, and cardamom. High-toned fruit, edgy bright acid, fine tannin, and mineral length lead to a clean and succulent finish. This is an elegant, sweet-fruited pinot with exceptional aging potential. Cool indeed!

(wine note)

2006 Stoller Vineyards Pinot Noir
Moderate red to garnet Pinot Noir with big, smooth, supple aspects of a fully ripe vintage and the terroir reflections of an excellent site. Aromatics are about potpourri and spice, with violets, lavender, brown spices, and a characteristic earthiness we find as a Stoller marker. Red and black fruits are apparent, with plum, cherry, and strawberry hints, augmented by mushroom, peppercorn, and cola. The wine is soft and round, with smooth, silky black tea–like tannins, creamy texture, great balance, and a long finish. Lovely.

(wine note)

2006 Ridgecrest Vineyards Pinot Noir
A big, lovely vintage with enough structure and balance to be ultimately ageable, as well as lovely upon release. The wine is brilliant and dark red to purple, presaging a young fruit-driven wine of size. There are aromatics of black cherry, red currant, and brambly black fruits like blackberry, black raspberry, and huckleberry, all accented by whole-cluster spicebox, a light herbal thread, and black pepper. Wood caramel and tar are integrated well, with a definite bittersweet chocolate aspect that pervades the palate from front to finish. Palate weight is deep and emollient, with wonderful length and an expansiveness in mid-palate that make the impression mouthfilling and rich. For a warm, rich year, the acid is nicely apparent and the balance excellent, complementing apparent alcohol and fine-grained tannin for very good complexity and ageability—a beautiful quarterback/ cheerleader Pinot Noir, pretty now and with a rewarding future.