Estate Syrah 2024

Stolpman’s Flagship Estate Grown Syrah
Over the past 25 years, Stolpman has pushed the Syrah envelope, own-rooting vines directly into its Limestone soils at high-density.  Un-grafted, the vines behave maturely within 3-4 years and do not require irrigation.  These own-rooted vines ripen small, concentrated clusters harvested for both ripeness and liveliness, and they deliver a singular expression of Ballard Canyon Syrah.  In pursuit of seamless purity, the winemaking team takes an extremely gentle touch as no force is needed to extract color and richness.
Healthy late winter and early spring rain pushed back bud-break by a few weeks and enabled all mature own rooted blocks to be dry-farmed for a second year in a row.  Summer weather remained moderate until September, when afternoons warmed up to allow a slight increase in the pace of ripening.  Harvest for the flagship Estate Syrah occurred over 20 days in October.
Opaque in color and on the nose.  A black curtain with rays of bright berry shining through.  A dense fog of violet perfume excites the senses for the show to come. In the mouth, the violet continues to strobe and energy surges through, lifting the curtain with bursting blackberry. Savoriness hits the finish with firm graphite tannin.  With a few minutes in the glass and time to reflect, savory notes of black olive and Mediterranean spice begin to tingle. Energetic red fruits, fresh cherry through to compote, begin to shine.