Estate Syrah 2020

BACKGROUND    
Estate Grown Syrah has long been the flagship of Stolpman Vineyards and the standard bearer of the entire Syrah-focused American Viticultural Area, Ballard Canyon.    

The Estate Grown Syrah cuvee includes the oldest “original” vines in Ballard Canyon planted throughout the 1990s as well as the mature high density and own-rooted vineyards planted in the 2000s.  Some of the newest, revolutionary pre-clonal massal selection Syrah also makes its way into this “main” Syrah bottling.    

Year after year, the wine’s richness + liveliness 1-2 combo showcases Ballard Canyon’s cold nights and the short period of daytime warmth in between Pacific fog and cool wind.  Stolpman’s Limestone subsoil elevates the bright natural acidity and Ruben Solorzano’s refusal to give the vines irrigation during much of the always-dry growing season lends terrific concentration  

VINTAGE    
The warm 2020 vintage created an earlier, more compact Syrah harvest focused in September rather than October.  The warm weather brings a wonderful juiciness to the young wine, with more typical savory elements kept to the periphery.  Playing into this vintage profile, we backed off the whole-cluster fermentation from the typical 50% to 30% to allow the fruit purity to shine brighter.

SENSORY    
In the glass, the 2020 Estate Grown Syrah possesses a deep black center with a bright red rim.  On the nose, boysenberry fruit sits above black olives.  Fine tannin melded into the smooth flesh carries into the finish already married with bright red acidity.   Just a hint of Syrah wildness adds nuance to the beautiful opaque wall of fruit.