One of my wine friends had a thing for Stonestreet Merlot, and I searched Atlanta high and low to get some for her.  When I was planning our next trip to Sonoma, I added this winery to the itinerary out of curiosity.  The grounds are stunning.  You drive down this long tree lined dirt road like in a movie where you are approaching a glorious plantation.  The tasting room is adorable too.  They had multiple flights, and we opted to try the extremely fabulous but very expensive aged bordeaux blend series.

Stonestreet Tasting Room. Photo credit to Steve Kellar via Gogobot

The wines we tasted were over the top amazing but sadly for us, quite expensive.  The 96 Bordeaux blend (57% cab, 26% merlot, 17% cab franc, 18 mos french oak) is $125.  and 02 is equally fantastic and $90.  We also tried the 99, 00, and 01 Black Cougar Ridge series which were equally full bodied, luxurious and smooth.  $90-$120.

I recommend a visit to try these wines because most of us won’t get the opportunity otherwise.  I can’t speak for their more economical line of wines, but I have no reason to believe they are not lovely too.

downsides?  You risk jealousy of CEO types who can afford a case of $120 a bottle wine.

http://www.stonestreetwines.com

Rating: 3 out of 4 – recommend