Seven Stones
http://www.sevenstoneswinery.com
Seven Stones is a 45 acre boutique winey nestled within the Meadowood Resort in St. Helena, with less than 500 case annual production. Original planting a single acre of Cabernet Sauvignon in 1996 and building a jewel-box winery with recreational family winemaking in mind. It became evident that the property, surrounded by some of Napa’s most prized vineyards, possessed the well-drained, rocky, volcanic soils that could produce world-class wine, think Sloan and Bryant Family.
Aaron Pott is the winemaker, A UC Davis grad, with a masters in viticulutre from University of Burgundy . Doing stints Newton as John Kongsgaard’s assistant. He became winemaker at Château Troplong-Mondot, then director of Château La Tour Figeac. He came back to take on winemaking positions at Beringer, St. Clement, and eventually, Quintessa, along with General manager.
The Wine
On the initial palate you get black cherry, plum, blackberry, cigar wrapper, cedar, vanilla bean, violet and iris, porcini, toffee, forest floor, chocolate butter cream frosting, wet rock, roast meat, black licorice, marzipan, cola, leather and flint as the wine further opens to black currants and roast duck. The wine has a very supple attack, which then explodes on the palate with coffee, cherry, cedar, plum leading to a full rich mid palate with layers of chocolate, plum, cherry, tobacco and toffee. The wine is seamless from start to finish. The tannins are edgeless, layered pillows of silk full of flavor leading to a finish of black currant, cherry, toffee and dark chocolate. — Wine Advocate 97 Antonio Galloni 96
A dense, loamy wine, loaded with steeped dark currant, fig and blackberry fruit flavors that rumble through, pushed by a graphite spine to a finish that is marked by warm earth, smoldering cast iron and roasted alder notes. Youthfully burly and withdrawn now, but with plenty of energy in reserve. Cellar. Best from 2022 through 2035. — WS94Wine Spectator
