The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Monument is a beautiful wine. Dark cherries, mocha, plums, spices, mint, minerals and graphite are woven together in this effortless, totally captivating wine. The 2009 impresses for its nuance, clarity and precision. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2021. Winemaker Graham Weerts has fashioned a stunning set of wines at Stonestreet. The Chardonnays are all fermented with native yeasts and are aged in French oak barrels, typically 50% new except where noted. The Cabernets are all 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Alexander Mountain Estate. Weerts gives the Cabernets 18 months in French oak barrels, 40-90% new.Tel. (800) 355-8008

The biggest production cuvee, the inky/purple-tinged 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Monument Ridge is fabulous. Composed of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Cabernet Franc aged 16 months in 76% new French oak casks, it reveals abundant aromas of creme de cassis, graphite, ink, licorice, and fruitcake in a full-bodied, Pauillac-like style with plenty of sweet tannin. These are far and away the most impressive group of Stonestreet Alexander Mountain estate wines I have ever tasted. Kudos to proprietor Jess Jackson and winemakers Graham Weerts and Marcia Monahan for exploiting this high elevation terroir. This has been a work-in-progress for Jackson, and he has finally hit paydirt with the following wines. Readers need to pay close attention as there are some amazing Chardonnays as well as red wines emerging from Stonestreet. There are seven distinctive cuvees of Chardonnay, ranging in production from 185 cases of Red Point, to 660 cases of Lower Rim. All of these super-impressive efforts come from elevations of 900 to 1,800 feet. I tasted one Merlot and seven Cabernet Sauvignons, and as readers can tell, these are also impressive wines. Production ranges from approximately 250 cases of the single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons (the only exception being the 5,000-case cuvee of Cabernet Sauvignon Monument Ridge).Tel. (800) 355-8008; Fax (707) 433-9469