Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Founded in 1982 by Koerner and Joan Rombauer and sits on a tree covered knoll overlooking the Napa Valley, with caves that extend for over a mile. Pale lemon color with aromas of stone and tropical fruit, sweet oak, spice and floral scents. On the palate flavors of ripe peach, melon and apple, with vanilla spice, creamy texture. Medium+ finish, well balanced with acidity, ending with mineral notes. — 6 months ago

David Peifer

9.6

First night open: 20 year old vintage— chocolate on the nose with a stone fruit finish. Tasted clean and complex with an almost immediate light evaporation in your mouth leaving you with the feeling of bubbles dissolving. Delicious. — 10 months ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Pale lemon with aromas of stone and tropical fruits. Made from 40-year old vines, aged in 100% stainless steel. On the palate flavors of bright lemon citrus with crisp apple and peach notes. This medium-body wine has crisp acidity, good balance and nice mouthfeel, smooth long finish ending with creamy mineral texture. Very Nice! — 4 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Medium gold, heavy in the glass. Awesome aged Raveneau nose. Notes of citrus, kimmeridgian white stone and light colored dirt, some honey, some spice. Great mouth feel, with acidity that powered up over 4-5 hours. Awesome with some angel hair pasta and shrimp, looking out over the Kohala Coast. — 5 years ago

Gregg Congleton

9.2

Said in my Homer Simpson voice: “mmmm Kistler Stone Flat Chardonnay....” - cloudy hue / canary yellow diamond in color; apple seeds to the nose, alcohol, barely noticeable oak; smooth and almost caramel candy taste. — 5 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Popped and poured, and brought out to compare to the 2008. Similar color and brightness as the 2008, which is a good sign. Deeper and slightly more complex nose. Notes of citrus, sea breeze, some hazelnuts, some wet stone. In the mouth it has a bit more weight, and kind of an oiliness to it. Taste lingers for a while. Very nice and sad to later discover this was the last of a 6 pack I had - all of which were in good shape. — 5 years ago

Jason Case

9.8

Favorite bottle of Saxom I’ve tried. Lovely ripe fruit, balance medium body, lingering finish. — 7 months ago

Brian S

9.1

Always a solid Chardonnay. American Chablis. — a year ago

Gwen Merino

9.6

Great flavor. — 2 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.5

Tasted blind. Medium gold color. Nice weight with an enticing nose. Notes of citrus, toast, clay, river stone and pit fruit. Rich and palate staining in the mouth. Seems young. I guess 02 Leflaive Combettes. We were all surprised with the reveal as a few of us have had this bottle a dozen times or more and we didn’t guess it. This bottle had many years of life in front of it yet. Great stuff! — 4 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.5

Medium gold. Attention grabbing nose. Notes of pear, lemon, river stone, some clove and some tan spice. Oily and palate staining in the mouth. Lively texture, gets bigger over 6 hours. Great juice that will surely improve over next 10 years. — 5 years ago

Alton Komori

9.2

2015 - Luscious honey nectar like bouquet, golden hue, medium heavy body, slightly acidic, pineapple notes, medium long finish. — 5 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.3

Yellow gold. Good weight. Fruit forward nose. Lemon curd, apricot, white clay, cardamom and powdered stone. Rich and fat. Has the stuffing for many years of future enjoyment. — 6 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Pale lemon color with pronounced stone fruit and citrus aromas. On the palate flavors of green apple, pear and citrus with vivid acidity, minerality and spice. Medium finish ending dry with fresh fruit and a touch of stony mineral notes. — 6 months ago

John Howard

Harvest production at Hirsch and Cobb Wineries

9.0

Tony bit sweet and better for it. — 9 months ago

Kurt Schuster

9.2

Stinky guava nose. Lychee fruit. Cleansing astringent flavor. Fresh acid, cuts through other flavors. Tropical mango and guava high notes. Lovely. — 3 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.6

Great color in the decanter... medium gold with an enticing perfume. Notes of sweet Meyer lemon, apricot, gravel stone, tan clay, some mint, a little ginger and some sweet marzipan. Has an exotic and slightly musty (desirable) funk. Huge weight with great fruit and solid acidity in the mouth. Decanted for 2 hours before drinking. Awesome juice! If you Google “why should I age white burgundy?”, an image of this 35 year old bottle should be shown... — 4 years ago

C. Cole

9.1

Stone fruits and silky mouth feel. Lighter than many Talleys, but delicious nevertheless.. — 5 years ago

G

9.6

2009 is perfect! And, I love these tiny bottles! — 5 years ago

Connor Smith

9.1

Finger. Lakes. Saperavi.

If this ain’t American winemaking in the 21st century we don’t know what is! 🇺🇸🍷🇬🇪🍇

At least, that’s what we were thinking before reading up on Standing Stone and founders Marti & Tom Macinski. They actually first planted this fascinating Georgian grape here in ***1994*** (just 3 years after Georgia left the USSR, for those keeping score at home) intended for blending.

Increasingly impressed by the quality of the grapes, they offered their first varietal Saperavi in 2010 - as “The Dark Red”, since the grape name was as yet unrecognized by the federal government. Once it was, they became the first American winery to release a wine labeled Saperavi.

Fine tuned to the cold, high mountains of Kakheti in eastern Georgia, it makes sense why it would thrive in the Finger Lakes! The name Saperavi literally means “ink”, a sensible name for a grape with pitch-dark skin AND flesh! 🖤

Marti and Tom sold the winery and retired in 2017. But their enduring legacy may just be budding. We’ve heard of Saperavi planting projects underway in New York, Virginia, and Oregon.

Saperavi’s runaway affinity for the Finger Lakes may have been a bit of a happy accident, but the Macinskis deserve every bit of credit for thinking outside the box, putting it in motion, and bringing it to fruition! 🙌🙌🙌 — 6 years ago