A sleek and lovely white, with delicately expressive pear and apple flavors, laced with notes of river stone and wild flowers. Drink now through 2021. 350 cases made. ~ 92 Points, Tim Fish, Wine Spectator, Mar 2020 This reserve-level wine honors founder Larry Stone's mother and her sister, whose family farm set him on a winemaking path. Sleek and perfectly honed, it's a mix of green apple, melon and papaya, all lightly ripened but in proportion. It finishes with a burst of buttery toast. ~ 93 Points, Paul Greggutt, Wine Enthusiast Sisters is produced in limited quantities and is sold mainly to our wine club members and mailing list. This wine presents a focused, intense character that feels light and pure, finishing with refreshing gunflint, lemon, and distinctive crunchy mineral nuances. It has weight but it is vibrant and filled with energy. The unique personality of the Sisters 2017 vintage is found in its richer aroma that hints at peach and honeysuckle aromas that progress to a livelier structure as it opens up.

♦  Vineyard The vineyard sources for the 2017 Sisters are situated close to the Lingua Franca Estate on sites with shallow Nekia and Witzel soils featuring less than two feet of topsoil in places. As in our own vineyard, the vines send their roots deep into the basalt bedrock soon after they are planted. This imparts more mineral and structured character to the wine, in harmony with the generous fruit. The barrels selected for Sisters, always the finest, most elegant and yet focused expression of Chardonnay we make from the vintage, is age-worthy and will continue to develop in bottle. We recommend buying a few bottles, one or two to try soon, and the rest to enjoy over the next few years as Sisters continues to evolve in the bottle. ♦  Production Whole cluster pressed, barrel-fermented in a combination of 16% new and partially used 600-liter puncheons and 84% neutral French oak barriques from diverse coopers and aged for 11 months on the lees. Full malolactic fermentation was completed in each vessel. After blending, the wine was put into a stainless steel tank with their lees for six months prior to bottling.

♦  Food Pairing This wine will best complement simple poached or sautéed fish dishes especially Rockfish, Halibut, Turbot, or Dover Sole with light herbed butter, garlic butter, or a classic Beurre Blanc sauce. Equally tempting are the royal Halibut, King (Chinook) Salmon with Dill sauce, or quail with a lemon-herb marinade grilled with Herbes de Provence. It is powerful yet crisp enough to go with Belon or similarly meaty oysters, perhaps accompanied with lemon crème fraiche, Oysters Rockefeller or rustic grilled oysters in the half-shell. It is also expressive enough to go with Poached Salmon with sorrel sauce, or a grilled Hamachi collar with rice and furikake. On the lighter side, this wine is equally matched with Tempura fish and vegetables, and the finest Smoked Salmon or Gravlax, and Caviar.