“There’s a lot of wine here.” – Vinous

Oh yeah. AND a lot of value today with double 95 points and a never-seen-this-low price on a single vineyard Cabernet by the venerable Stonestreet.

Hear Robert Parker out from just a year before this was harvested: “Over the last half-dozen or so years, the Jackson family have dramatically and consistently upgraded the quality of Stonestreet… If my recollection is correct, the late Jess Jackson considered this estate one of the true jewels in his extensive vineyard holdings.”

He is right! A genuine crown jewel in a portfolio boasting priceless gems like Lokoya, Cardinale, Vérité, La Jota, Anakota, Mt. Brave… you get the picture. The late Jackson also named his Chianti Classico Gran Selezione from Tenuta di Arceno “Strada al Sasso,” meaning “stone street.” And he so loved this property that he would ultimately be buried there…

An LA Times article says it all, “It’s worth remembering that all California Cabernet Sauvignon doesn’t come from Napa. Perhaps the most respected of these is the Alexander Valley, a long, narrow valley that angles north and east from Healdsburg. That flavor profile is effusive for the most part, a warmth and generosity of fruit that rarely gives way to flab or rotundity; these are among the sturdiest Cabs in California, with robust tannins that counterbalance any overly forward tendencies. Their staying power lends a classicism, a steadfastness, to the valley’s offerings… at a fraction of Napa prices.”

They add: “In the early ‘90s Jackson Family Wines began developing in earnest some of the mountain slopes, and benches that frame the valley, particularly for Stonestreet, broadening the appellation profile; certainly these vineyards, at elevations in the vicinity of 2,500 feet, are flaunting an invigorating, grippy mineral dimension for wines of exceptional palate length, emblematic, embodying the tradition and the textural heft that are the valley’s best features.”

All in the glass! With age this has transformed into something just short of perfection. As the Vinous review noted “all it needs is time to allow the tannins to soften” and that time has come. With tremendous aromatic and flavor intensity, it dazzles from the first taste. The palate is quite refined for a mountain wine, with medium to full body, and a range of floral and mineral notes, interspersed amongst red-toned berries and cheerful spices. It finishes long, complex, and polished. This boasts the “power meets finesse” juncture so well that it will make you forget Napa’s best, trust us.

Let me put it this way: you’d be thrilled with this even at full retail. More than half off means back the truck up!

95+ Points – Wine Advocate “The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Bear Point Vineyard was aged for 20 months in 43% new oak. It’s loaded with gregarious aromas of blueberry, boysenberry, lavender, fresh sage and dark chocolate. The palate is full-bodied with abundant, grainy tannins, seamless acidity and concentrated, floral flavors. It’s still somewhat flinty and will benefit from 3 to 5+ years in the bottle. Drink 2025-2045.”

95 Points – Vinous “The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Bear Point Vineyard is a wine of power, tension and energy. Bright acids run through a core of black fruit, gravel, spice, menthol, licorice, and chocolate. This brooding, potent Cabernet has a lot to offer. All it needs is time to allow the tannins to soften a bit. There’s a lot of wine here. Drink 2025-2038.”