Stony Hill is one of Napa’s oldest, still-operating wineries.

Stony Hill represents both the history of Napa Valley and that region’s potential. I have heard so many winemakers around the world say “great wines are made in the vineyard.” But few of them have the fruit, and patient confidence, to stop right there. Stony Hill does.

Stony Hill: A Window into the Past

Fred and Eleanor McCrea began planting vines on their Spring Mountain property in 1948. They grew and made white wines: Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Gewurtztraminer and Semillon. The first commercial vintage was 1952, sold to friends. But within two years—30 years before Napa’s first famous “cult wine”—they sold via a mailing list and had to start a waiting list because demand exceeded supply.

Fred McCrea made the wine himself in a way that Stony Hill accurately calls restrained and minimalist. Mike Chelini, Fred’s assistant, took on all the winemaking duties when Fred passed away in 1977. Mike is still the winemaker today, nearly 40 years later. That makes him the longest-serving of Napa Valley’s current winemakers and he still pursues that restrained, minimalist style.

Like his wines, winemaker Mike Chelini is unassuming but genial and happy to talk about the vineyard if you ask.

Stony Hill remains within the McCrea family too, the torch gradually passing now from second to third generation. Fred and Eleanor’s grand daughter, Sarah, is president. The vineyard and the winery reflect this continuity.

Farming is manual and without irrigation. They replant as needed, not more. Pinot Blanc went away—not a good place for it. Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah were added. It’s a very good place for those.

A few years back, Stony Hill winked at modernity in the winery, buying half-tons bins and a fork lift to make harvest a little easier. But the barrels are still neutral, even old. There aren’t any fancy tanks, computerized fermentation controls or automated punch-downs. No tubing micro-oxygenates.

There’s nothing “new” to see in the Stony Hill barrel room.

Yes, the barrels at Stony Hill are truly old and neutral.

In short, Stony Hill still makes wine the way they, and the rest of Napa Valley, did 65+ years ago. It’s a living museum of winemaking. Their product is (just) really good wine.

Stony Hill: A Path to the Future

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Don’t just stand there, do something.” But sometimes, just standing there is the right thing to do. Doing nothing can be a great decision. Less is more.

Wonderful fruit can be like a beautiful woman, Kim Novak for example. In Hitchcock’s Vertigo, the facade she was paid to present makes Jimmy Stewart fall in love with her. When, after her staged death, she reappears as her true self, Stewart can’t adjust. He’s now obsessed with artificial perfection, needs to recreate his idealized version of her. In doing so, he literally kills the real girl.

We do the same thing with grapes. We add, we subtract, we massage and we polish. The result can be lip-smacking but bear little resemblance to the source material. And we forget how to love what nature brings.

What does this have to do with the future? Well, millennials are an increasingly dominant segment of the wine buying public. And market analysts always say millennials crave authenticity in products and marketing. That is exactly what Stony Hill offers. Their wines are refreshing to both mind and palate. Perhaps more wineries should, genuinely, go back to the future.

Vineyard Overview

Part of Stony Hill’s sloping, volcanic-soil vineyard

The Stony Hill vineyards, about 30 acres and not entirely contiguous, lie on Spring Mountain. The altitude (800 to 1,500 feet) coupled with a northeast facing, maintain acidity and discourage over-ripening. The soil is volcanic on distant bedrock of limestone. The vines are not irrigated. Their long roots tap into underground springs and percolated groundwater.

Winemaking Overview

The estate vineyards provide all the fruit, except for a portion of the Riesling while re-planting goes on. The Riesling is fermented and matured in stainless. The Chardonnay and Gewurtztraminer get very neutral French oak. Malolactic fermentation is inhibited to preserve brisk acidity and keep flavors focused on fruits, flowers and minerals.

All the white can age a bit, but the Chardonnay’s capacity for maturation is legendary. I have tasted some back into the 1970’s and, while their fruit is no long fresh off the tree, the wines are alive with complexity and verve. Coincidentally, just a week before I visited Stony Hill for this article, I shared a bottle of 1991 Stony Hill Chardonnay with friends. It was beautiful: textured, incisive, nuanced, juicy and, well, yummy.

Stony Hill’s label design hasn’t changed.

The stunning color of ’91 Stony Hill Chardonnay

The Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah show the fruity excitement of young vines, but do so with grace. The Cabernet ages 18 months in French oak, some of it new, and another 18 months in bottle prior to release. Just a single, old, double-sized barrel of Syrah is being made.

I tasted the Syrah from barrel. It will only be available for club members, lucky them. This is a pretty, feminine Syrah with medium body. The fruit is purple plum with floral accents. The Syrah vines lie just downhill of three eucalyptus trees, more than a century old and neck-craningly tall. Their oil drifts onto the grapes, giving the wine eucalyptus notes reminiscent of some nuanced Australian Shiraz.

The tasting room at Stony Hill comes with a view.

Visits to Stony Hill are by appointment only, $45 per person.

2014 Stony Hill White Riesling Napa Valley 91 12.0% 750ml $30

This limited production dry Riesling is made, in part, from vines planted by the McCrea family in 1948. It’s water white in the glass with lovely aromas of honeysuckle and barely ripe apricot. Medium-bodied and very juicy on the palate. The finish is long and mineral.

2013 Stony Hill Chardonnay 92+ 13.0% 750ml $45

Just a baby, this Chardonnay is pale lemon-green with gentle aromas, and more intense flavors, of lemon and green apple. The palate is medium-bodied and very fresh. Appetizingly silky texture and a long, mineral finish. Drink now or age for 20+ years.

2009 Stony Hill Chardonnay 94 13.0% 750ml $55

Seven years in, this wine is only beginning to show the charms of aged Stony Hill Chardonnay. The color is still just medium-minus lemon-green. The nose, having become more generous with time, offers almond skin, fresh lemon and green apple. In the mouth, the wine is silky and very juicy with medium+ body. Flavors include bruised green apple, mineral, lemon pith and a splash of buttermilk. Superbly balanced. Delicious now and will continue to improve for a good 15 years or more.

2012 Stony Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 92+ 13.3% 1.5l $130

Ruby-purple with aromas of fresh black currant, dark berries, tobacco and currant leaf. The palate has medium body with medium+ tannins that are still a touch grainy and drying. Intensity is generous, not overdone. Drink 2020-2030+.

New to Cabernet Sauvignon, Stony Hill nevertheless brings old-school sensibilities.

Copyright Fred Swan 2016. All rights reserved.