TN: Two New Stolpmans & a Calif Nero d'Avola...(short/boring)

WINE TALK
1

Tried these three reds over the weekend:

  1. StolpmanVnyds Crunchy/Roastie SoFresh BallardCnyn/SantaBarbaraCnyn (12.5%; 95% Syrah/5% Viognier; Sans Soufre/Extended Elevage) Orcutt 2019: Med.dark color; fairly strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/slight peppery bit herbal very light toasty/oak slight funky/natty slight Rhonish/smokey rather interesting nose; rather tart/tangy light Syrah/blackberry/blueberry/spicy bit peppery/maybe some whole-cluster slight funky/lean bit toasty/oak rather atypical SBC Syrah flavor w/ light tangy tannins; med.long fairly tart/tangy light blackberry/blueberry/Syrah slight peppery/w-c/Rhonish/smokey light toasty/oak finish w/ light tangy tannins; rather atypical of Stolpman Syrah & not the richness & texture they typically show; a rather atypical interesting rendition of SBC Syrah; would like a bit more impact but it is what it is; “crunchy” is a good descriptor. $22.50 (KK)
  1. StolpmanVnyd Trousseau StolpmanVnyd/BallardCnyn/SantaBarbaraCnyn (12%) 2020: Med.light ruby color; rather fragrant earthy/loamy/bit rustic/Languedoc-like light floral/rose petal/plummy/bit Bojo-like somewhat interesting nose; fairly tart/tangy some bright/cherry/plummy bit floral/rose petal some earthy/loamy some rustic bit Bojo-like (but not as grapey) flavor w/ light gentle tannins; med.long light cherry/plummy/rose petal fairly earthy/loamy/rustic finish w/ light gentle tannins; reminds a lot of Counoise but not as bright/cherry in character & much more earthy/loamy; a pleasant enough Bojo-style red but just that. $27.50 (KK)
  1. MarthaStouman Nero d’Avola/MendoCnty (12.4%) V&B by MarthaStouman/Napa 2016: Med.dark color; strong licorice/boysenberry/Nd’A earthy/loamy/dusty/OV some MendoCnty/tomatoey quite rustic nose; soft strong licorice/boysenberry/Nd’A quite rustic/coarse/earthy/loamy MendoCnty/tomatoey slight tangy/metallic/rather sour flavor w/ ample coarse tannins; long strong earthy/loamy/coarse/rustic some blackberry/Nd’A some MendoCnty/tomatoey rather sour finish w/ ample coarse tannins; if Nd’A is about rough/coarse wines, this is it; but not a wine that offers up any pleasure.

A wee BloodyPulpit:

  1. Stolpman: Not sure exactly what’s going on at StolpmanVnyds. This Combe & SoFresh are pretty drastic departures from the classic style of Stolpman wines. Not sure if PeterStolpman is moving towards “natural” winemaking or what. They are making several different lines of wines that are a departure from their traditional style. And some of them at pretty frightening prices ($80-$100/btl). Would be curious if anyone knows the story.
    Both of these were pretty atypical of the traditional Stolpman style. Can’t say that I was taken by either one of these wines. Interesting…but just that.
    Tom
2

A couple vintages ago the Combe Trousseau was really nice and pretty similar to a lot of the nice Jura stuff that Weygandt exposed me to. To me your notes are kinda like mine I suppose. Guess I just like this stuff??

3

I thought that the real Nero d’Avola was bad enough.

Now here comes California copying it. :blush:

4

Clearly, you’re not married to a Sicilian. :smiley:

5

Tom,

I thought you followed So Fresh from the start?!?!? So Fresh is the ‘separate’ line of Stolpman that concentrates on mainly carbonic maceration wines, as well as some orange wines. It’s kind of like the ‘next generation’ of Stolpman. They are still making their more ‘traditional’ wines as well . . .

I described the ‘Crunchy Roastie’ as kind of like a ‘syrah foam’ in gastronomical terms . . .

Cheers

6

Yeah, this seemed to be a “thing” in the Los Olivos area when we were there in September. A number of wineries were making carbonic wines, but we didn’t love most of the ones we tried. Not sure if it’s a fad there, or something that will stick around. We did taste at Stolpman, but the regular wines, and enjoyed all of them. We also had the pleasure of speaking with Tom Stolpman for about 30 minutes, and he was a delight to chat with.

7

We tasted a bunch in September and thought some were OK and the ones we liked, overpriced.

8

Bob,

Did you try the Carbonic stuff or their regular lineup?

Cheers

9

As far as I remember, regular. I tossed my tasting notes since we weren’t buying and I can get the Roussanne here.

10

I used to not be a fan of Nero d’Avola, finding many of the commonly available versions had a roasted and tarry character without enough freshness or acidity. In recent years, however, I have found that some Sicilian producers are making a much fresher, brighter style of Nero which can be great with food. Gulfi makes some tremendous wines with this grape, and great values. Arianna Occhipinti, COS, and Feudo Montoni are all making good renditions as well, in my opinion. I’m also a fan of the blends with Frappato in Cerasuolo di Vittoria wines.