Stonegate Sauvignon Blanc, Napa, 2000
Price $14.99
Rating 92
The wine is created 100% in stainless steel, resulting in a clean, crisp entry of dried apricot and bright grapefruit. This wine is beautifully acidic, balanced by a honeyed lusciousness. There are additional complexities of apple and other white fruits. Match this wine with pasta and shellfish in a citrus and cream based sauce.

Stonegate owns or controls 212 acres of Napa Valley vineyards including a steeply-terraced vineyard in Diamond Mountain. Situated on the valley floor near Calistoga, Stonegate Winery is surrounded by 15 acres. Above the valley at elevations of 1,000 ft., additional estate vineyards are located in Chiles Valley District of the Napa Valley.

Stonegate Sauvignon Blanc "Gunn Family", Napa 2000
Price $18.99
Rating 93
Being 50% barrel fermented, this crisp sauvignon blanc brings additional complexities to the equation. There is a complex, green apple nose, followed by flavors of nougat, roasted nuts (especially pine nuts), dried apricot, and a squeeze of citrus in the long finish.

Stonegate's resurgence was aided by the luring of winemaker Gerard Zanzonico, on board since 1999 vintage. He has twenty years experience with neighboring winery Chateau Montelena.

"Our focus is on quality, not quantity," explains Paul Croft, "and the future is geared to allow Stonegate to emerge as a leading Napa Valley estate, specializing in the Bordeaux varietals."

Stonegate Merlot, Napa 1999
Price $32
Rating 95
With 6% cabernet sauvignon to add a bit more depth, note the aromas of bright tropical fruit with ripe plum and black cherry. The flavors are complex, packed with red raspberry and cocoa powder. This is an impressive wine with a seemingly never-ending length. Black, and bright red cherries, dried plum, and rich earthiness throughout set this extraordinary merlot apart from the usual examples.

Pair this merlot that thinks it is a cabernet with fine meat dishes, perhaps steak topped with blue or Asiago cheese with brandy and peppercorn sauce.

Stonegate Cabernet Sauvignon , Napa 1999
Price $42
Rating 94
Imagine aromas of black liquorish, and jammy red fruit (almost like red berry preserves). There are flavors of bright red cherry and cassis, with a lilt of mint and herb. The taste is crisp and bright, being prefect for food. Very concentrated and full of flavor.

Though predominately cabernet sauvignon, the precise mixture is 89% cabernet, 6% merlot, 1% cabernet franc, 3% petit verdot, and 1% malbec. Try this elegant red with prime rib or roast leg of lamb.

In the later part of the 1990's, The California Wine Company, a well funded joint venture purchased the under capitalized and overlooked Stonegate winery from the Spaulding family. With necessary investments and well-tuned winemaking expertise, the results are exceptional. Production is currently at 20,000 cases, of which approximately 75% are red Bordeaux varietal wines. More than 800 French oak barrels are now cellared at Stonegate Winery with projected storage capacity of 1,900 barrels by 2006. For more information, go to www.stonegatewinery.com.