Stolpman Vineyards Estate Grown Syrah 2012 | Exclusive Library Release
93 Vinous | AG | Stolpman Vineyards Estate Grown Syrah 2012 presents vivid purple. An intensely perfumed bouquet shows textbook Syrah aromas of smoky blackberry, blueberry, violet pastille, and black olive. Seamless and sweet on the palate, with energetic dark berry compote flavors and an exotic floral pastille quality that gains power in the glass. Puts on weight with aeration and finishes very long, with clinging sweetness and slow-building, fully integrated tannins.
Ruben Solorzano — Wine Enthusiast’s “grape whisperer”
Stolpman boasts the kind of concentration, precision, and liveliness that is winning fans the world over: Not only did they make waves in Wine & Spirits magazine’s list of top restaurant wines, but the calls from around the U.S. and overseas are getting more frequent and insistent. In fact, Pete had to duck out of our lunch for a few minutes to take a call from an importer determined to bring an allocation of Stolpman to Seoul, South Korea! In short, quality is higher than ever. So is demand.
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If you’re enamored of the sleekness and wildly concentrated purity of top-notch Syrah, Peter Stolpman’s Hilltops Syrah—particularly when perfectly cellared—is as close as California comes to the superstars of Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage.
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Ballard Canyon is home to many of California’s best Rhône-styled wines, and Solorzano is the AVA’s hardest working man. He’s also a night owl. Hence taking advantage of Santa Barbara’s chilly nights to harvest nocturnally preserving the berries’ scintillating acid vibrancy. Equipped with a headlamp and a smile, he presides over dry-farmed, head-pruned vines. Furthermore, it calls to mind the northern Rhône slopes of Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage.
Winemaker Sashi Moorman | Stolpman Vineyards Estate Grown Syrah 2012
So, Solorzano and Moorman are masters of Ballard Canyon. “We’re going to over-deliver. And, this wine does exactly that. While, It’s a fabulously juicy, terrifically concentrated Syrah that evolves beautifully in the glass. After 20 minutes in a Zalto Universal stem, this full-throttle Syrah begins to rein itself in. While trading off some of its Shiraz-like characteristics for more limestone refinement. Less Barossa. More Hermitage or Saint-Joseph. The finish is amazing—goes on and on.
