Ruben Solorzano Syrah 2023

Stolpman’s Pre Clonal, Own Rooted Projects
Grape Whisperer, Ruben Solorzano planted the first test vineyard that would pave the way for the other GREAT PLACES vineyards back in 2007. After being inspired while helping Renee Rostaing prune his steep Côte Blonde parcel in Côte Rôtie, Ruben crammed 6,000 pre-clonal Syrah vines onto one beautiful hillside in marching rows of diagonal posts directly above Ballard Creek.   
This one-acre block, today known as Great Places, Ruben Solorzano, is the founding member of the Great Places Quartet.  In 2018, August James was classified, Pete and Jessica Stolpman’s eldest son who is named after Auguste Clape of Cornas. In 2022, we finally classified Jessica Lauren, whose vineyard was inspired by the brand’s namesake Lieu-Dit “Les Grandes Places” Serine in Côte Rôtie.  Finally, August’s younger brother, Otto Reynard (Otto’s middle name, Reynard means “the fox” and is a famous parcel in Cornas) was classified in 2023.               
Healthy late season rains pushed back bud-break and the growing season by 3-4 weeks. We escaped the summer without any extreme heat events that would have accelerated ripening. This moderate weather led to even, slow sugar accumulation. October weather warmed up and pushed the vines through the finish line for a smooth, seamless, and plush vintage that still carries plenty of bright energy.
First blush throws an epoch of marbled-steak-smoke, peppercorn, coffee, sangre, and dark wood. The savory wildness screams for elk chops.
With just a second smell, ripe blueberry first peaks on the nose than dominates the front palate of the first sip. Mocha and cream bring further pleasure to the mid palate and fleshes out widely through the finish. After diving deeper into the 2023, the creamy richness expands into cocoa-dusted tiramisu. Fine grain, hard-wood tannin emerges after swallowing. Truly a “wow wine”.