2025 Stony Hill - Chardonnay SHV Napa Valley (750ml)

Stony Hill began in 1943, when Fred and Eleanor McCrea bought a goat ranch on Spring Mountain as a summer retreat. Inspired by white Burgundy, and against the advice of UC Davis advisers, they planted Chardonnay, releasing their first vintage in 1952. Their lean, age-worthy style became a Napa original. Today winemaker Reid Griggs carries that tradition forward and describes the 2025 vintage as a classic expression of Stony Hill.

The SHV Napa Valley Chardonnay widens the estate’s lens. Recent vintages blend fruit from Quartz Creek Vineyard in Oak Knoll and Haynes Vineyard in Coombsville, where vines planted in 1967 are among the oldest Chardonnay in Napa Valley, with a little Spring Mountain estate fruit. Malolactic fermentation is largely blocked to preserve acidity. The wine typically ages about ten months in 300 and 500 liter barrels, roughly 30% new, and finishes near 13% alcohol.

Citrus leads the way, with sliced lemon, green apple, white flowers and wet stone, plus a flinty, reductive edge and a hint of beeswax. The mid-weighted palate is textural yet taut, carried by a fine line of acidity into a saline, mineral finish with nervy energy. Youthful and precise, it has the structure to cellar.