Stony Hill ⭐️ Harlan, Dalla Valle, MacDonald Winemaker, Howell + Spring Mtn Fruit
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Originally sent to our list on October 16, 2026. Pricing and availability reflect that date — for current pricing and stock, see artisan.wine.
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A Personal Note
Dear Artisans,
Two wines from a Spring Mountain legend, and both are insanely great for the money.
These vintages are now made by Reid Griggs, formerly of MacDonald Vineyard, Dalla Valle and Harlan, and it shows.
The Greatest Mountain Vineyards Collide
The Cabernet: Stony Hill’s own Spring Mountain fruit, plus Linda Falls and Ink Grade on Howell Mountain.
The Chardonnay: Spring Mountain fruit, plus Heitz Quartz Creek in Oak Knoll and Haynes Vineyard in Coombsville.
If those names sound familiar, they should. Heitz Cellar’s Ink Grade Howell Mountain Cabernet is $129.99 on our shelves, and Haynes Vineyard’s own Chardonnays run $96.97 to $249.99. The ultimate blend of great mountain and cool-climate vineyards, and it shows.
Old School, Made Modern
Fred and Eleanor McCrea bought a former goat ranch on Spring Mountain in 1943, built one of the first Napa Valley wineries after Prohibition in 1951, and made their first vintage in 1952: about 50 cases. Wine Spectator’s James Laube called it, with its unusually long-lived Chardonnays, “decidedly old-fashioned — and proud of it.”
Since 2020 Stony Hill has belonged to the Lawrence family, with Master Sommelier Carlton McCoy Jr. at the helm, the same team behind Heitz Cellar, Ink Grade and Haynes Vineyard. That is how this fruit ends up in these bottles.
Reid Griggs, here since 2021, took that original old-school, classic Napa style and made it modern, with luxurious polish.
James Tran
Artisan Wine & Spirits
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Why This Matters
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The Cabernet · Spring Mountain + Howell Mountain
2022 SHV Cabernet. Napa Valley.
Decanter 95: “extraordinary focus, precision and tension.”
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Stony Hill Vineyard SHV Cabernet Sauvignon 2022
Napa Valley · 750 mL
All Cabernet Sauvignon, from three hillside sites: Stony Hill itself, plus Ink Grade and Linda Falls on Howell Mountain. Every grape was picked before the heat event that defined 2022 for much of Napa, then aged 22 months in French and Austrian puncheons, casks and concrete. Here are its top two reviews.
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The Chardonnay · Three Napa Sites
2023 SHV Chardonnay. Napa Valley.
James Suckling gave the next vintage, the 2024, 97 points: “a minerally, saline and nervy finish.”
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Stony Hill Vineyard SHV Chardonnay 2023
Napa Valley · 750 mL
Estate fruit from Spring Mountain, plus Haynes Vineyard in Coombsville and Heitz Quartz Creek in Oak Knoll, aged 18 months in new and used French oak and made in the same balanced, ageworthy style as the estate Chardonnay. We have not found a major critic’s score on the 2023 yet; James Suckling’s note on the 2024, the vintage after ours, is below.
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The Bottom Line
A Harlan alum, great mountain vineyards. $49.99 and $64.99.
The 2022 SHV Cabernet at $64.99, Decanter and James Suckling 95, and the 2023 SHV Chardonnay at $49.99. James Suckling gave its next vintage 97.
Old-school Stony Hill, made modern by Reid Griggs. They beat wines at two to three times the price in our masterclass; open one beside your favorite and see for yourself.
Cheers,
— James Tran
Artisan Wine & Spirits
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Artisan Wine & Spirits · 2495 Old Middlefield Way, Mountain View, CA 94043
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