Tried these three reds over the weekend:
- 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)
- 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)
- 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:
- 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