2005 Crocker & Starr Cabernet Sauvignon Stone Place
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Tasting notes
Dark ruby-red. Brooding aromas of black fruits, violet and graphite minerality convey a medicinal reserve. Fine-grained and classy on the palate, with its black cherry and licorice flavors complicated by a note of dark fudge. Offers terrific texture and mouth coverage, not to mention plenty of ripeness. This plush, fairly massive wine finishes with substantial fine-grained, broad, building tannins and excellent density and length. From a larger-than-average crop of about 2-3/4 tons per acre, this wine benefited from long hang time and an October harvest. The first of these wines that still calls for more cellaring. This is the last vintage of the Stone Place wine to include Merlot.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Bright, dark ruby with no sign of evolution. Extremely primary nose offers scents of blackberry, licorice and bitter pastille. Densely packed and thick, but with excellent energy and definition to its dark berry and bitter chocolate flavors. Sweeter and deeper than the Cabernet Franc bottling but also very backward, with a lovely violet topnote. Slightly tough tannins build with air. This firmly structured Cabernet still needs more aging.
The stunning 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Stone Place exhibits a dense ruby/purple color, a sweet kiss of licorice, black currants, bay leaf, and spring flowers, stunning fruit, full body, a powerful style, and beautiful equilibrium and sweet tannin in the finish. Already approachable, it should evolve for 15-20 years. Tel. (707) 967-9111; Fax (707) 967-9611
Bright, saturated ruby-red. Sweet, fruit-driven aromas of blackberry, cassis, licorice and mint, lifted by a floral topnote. Dense, sappy and creamy, offering a fine-grained texture and an intriguing minerality to the intense dark berry and blackberry skin flavors. Finishes broad and long, with lovely lift and tangy minerality. This boasts terrific fruit.