Stolpman Vineyards Estate Grown Syrah 2013 | Exclusive Library Release
Stolpman Vineyards Estate Grown Syrah 2013 presents a dark ruby center with crimson reflections toward the edge. The wine feels warm and centered around dark plum, crushed blackberry, and cassis. The palate is in perfect stride at the moment showing beautiful integration of its dried herb, cracked pepper, and wildflower notes. Volume and plushness dominate the overall feel here, and everything seems to have a gentle kiss of smoke that is very attractive. Finding wines from vineyards like this, that have established the benchmark for an entire growing region, is always an experience of reverence. This Stolpman Syrah from the “original” plantings of the estate in Ballard canyon is exactly such a wine.
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93WA | What’s becoming the flagship Syrah for the estate, the Stolpman Vineyards Estate Grown Syrah 2013 comes from the original planting of the estate from 1992. It offers more texture, depth, richness, and elegance over the Estate Syrah and possesses beautiful notes of creme de cassis, barbecue smoke, crushed pepper, and violets. Medium to full-bodied, ripe and textured, yet always pure and balanced, it will have a decade of longevity.
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.
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 Syrah
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.
