Stolpman Roussanne Rhône Varietal w/ vodka cream pasta

Stolpman Roussanne Rhône Varietal w/ vodka cream pasta

We were invited to son Alec’s and D-in-law Vivianna’s for dinner with them and the grandkids. Alec prepared a delicious rigatoni pasta with Italian sausage and broccoli in a vodka cream sauce. 

Linda prepared a tomato caprese salad with a delicious chocolate raspberry balsamic purchased at last week’s Farmers’ Market at Naperville 5th Avenue Station. 

I took from our cellar a Southern Rhône Rousanne varietal wine from Santa Barbara County. This proved to be not only a perfect pairing, which thereby amplified the enjoyment of both the food and the wine, but commemorated our trip together to the region during our Southern Rhône Provence tour in 2019 as chronicled in these posts - 

Four days in Provence - Aix - Meyrargues

A visit to Château La Nerthe - 

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/08/a-visit-to-chateau-la-nerthe.html

We also visited the estate of Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe as the other highlight of our visit to the appellations Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

This is from Ballard Canyon which sits in the greater Santa Ynez Valley AVA which covers a thirty mile east-west corridor, running east from the town of Lompoc to Los Olivos and Santa Ynez on the east. It covers 77,000 acres of winegrapes with more than 60 different wine varieties. 

We visited the Santa Ynez Valley during our Santa Barbara County Wine Experience back in 2022 and discovered the plethora of Rhone varietal based wines including many Syrah, one of our regular favorites.

Over the years the sub-appellations evolved and were granted AVA (American Viticultural Area) status with Santa Rita Hills to the west and Happy Canyon to the east. In the center is Ballard Canyon which was recognized as a unique winegrowing area and granted its own AVA in 2013.

Ballard Canyon became Santa Barbara County’s fifth official American viticultural area (AVA) joiningthe existing AVAs of the region including Santa Ynez Valley, Sta. Rita Hills, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara, Santa Maria Valley and the broader Santa Barbara County.

Ballard Canyon, covers just 7,700 acres, or only 10% of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA, and has a unique north-south orientation of the canyon provides a unique weather pattern of wind, fog, and maritime influence, giving it its own sense of a specific place or with its soil and elevation, terroir.

Ballard Canyon has a history of viticulture back to the earlier 1970’s but grew and gained recognition in an expansion of planting boom in the 90’s, with new grower producers such as Stolpman and Beckmen, Harrison, Larner, and Saarloos families planted vineyards, followed by Jonata and Tierra Alta.

While land to the west became increasingly devoted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with the publication of the STA Rita Hills AVA, Ballard Canyon vineyards focused on Rhône varietals and primarily Syrah. 

Ballard Canyon became Santa Barbara County’s fifth official American viticultural area (AVA) joiningthe existing AVAs of the region including Santa Ynez Valley, Sta. Rita Hills, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara, Santa Maria Valley and the broader Santa Barbara County.

Ballard Canyon, encompassing 7,800, is the second AVA in the Santa Ynez Valley along with Sta. Rita Hills. The region is an integral part of the diversity within the Central Coast and Santa Barbara County designations. After experimenting with many different varietals, the growers and producers of Ballard Canyon settled on Syrah as the best-suited varietal throughout Ballard Canyon. Over half of the AVA’s planted acreage is Syrah and an additional 30% of acres are planted to other Rhone varietals including Grenache, Viognier, and Roussanne.

Of the total 458 acres planted to red wine grapes. Rhone Varietals predominate with 76%, followed by Bordeaux: 14%, Italian: 8%, and other California ‘Heritage’ 2%. 

Syrah is the predominant red varietal with 274 Acres followed by another Rhône varietals mostly Grenache. Other plants include smaller amounts of Bordeaux grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot, as well as small amounts of Italian varietals Sangiovese and Nebbiolo. 

Of the white wine grapes planted Rhone Varietals such as Roussanne predominate with 57%, followed by Bordeaux  (40%), primarily Sauvignon Blanc, and others lead by Viognier.

Stolpman Santa Barbara County Ballard Canyon Estate Bottled Roussanne 2019

This unique California Rhône white is produced and marketing directly as an estate wine sourced from their own vineyard under their own branding. Grapes from the vineyard are also produced separately under branding of a personal project of winemaker Jeremy Weintraub, whose day job is  since 2013 is overseeing Adelaida Cellars, a prominent estate in Paso Robles.  

Jeremy’s winemaking education includes earning a Master’s in Viticulture & Enology from UC Davis, and, interning throughout the world’s best wine regions. Before his work with Adelaida, Jeremy was the winemaker at Seavey, a somewhat under-rated Cabernet producer in Napa Valley. Previously, Jeremy traveled the world, working harvests in Tuscany, Central Otago, Martinborough, and Long Island. 

Weintraub produces a small portfolio of limited production wines with fruit sourced from some of California's most renowned sites including a 100% Roussanne varietal is from the Stolpman Vineyard in Ballard Canyon in Santa Barbara County. 

This is the Stolpman branding crafted by family owned and operated Stolpman Vineyards sourced from their estate of 220-acres planted to 152 acres of south-facing grapes, an organic vegetable garden, and 5 acres of olives. This Roussanne Rhône varietal comprises 15.3 acres of the total plantings.

The Stolpman estate was established 20 years ago by Founding Partner, Tom Stolpman, when he discovered what we believe to be one of the greatest viticultural sites on earth, hidden in the hills of California’s Central Coast, on a rare Limestone outcropping & unobstructed from the Pacific Ocean wind, this unique land is naturally suited to grow Syrah and Roussanne grapes. 

The Stolpman family say they are blessed to farm wine grapes from their Ballard Canyon estate due to what they cite are five distinguishing characteristics that set their vineyard apart, even from other Ballard Canyon sites: 

“White Rock - Active, youthful 2 million year-old Limestone provides balancing acidity to all of our wines while the thin layer of dense clay topsoil above allows retention of moisture. Because of this one-two combo, we can withhold irrigation from the roots, forcing them to dig deep into the white rock and absorb all that terroir!’ The limestone that runs deep and lends acidity to the berries with clay-rich topsoil that retains moisture efficiently. 

“Tunnel of Love - Daily mistrals originate from the cold Arctic flow of Pacific Ocean pushing through our fully-exposed hillsides. The Mojave far to our east sucks up the cold air as its desert heat rises – the vacuum creates a perennial wind tunnel through Ballard Canyon rivaling the Northern Rhone in force and relentlessness. Our hearty vines continue to photosynthesize in the wind but the fluttering leaves don’t suck for water. Without dilution, flavor concentration intensifies. The wind also knocks down fungal pressure, giving the winery team pristinely clean fruit.’

“Nightly Chill - Unsheltered from the Pacific, as soon as night falls, temperatures drop an average of 40 degrees Fahrenheit during the growing season. Not only does the cold nightly rejuvenation help hold acidity through our long growing season, but we also nocturnally harvest to lock in the taut freshness from the crisp conditions. The diurnal shift pendulum swings vastly, with drops of up to 40 degrees between daytime and nighttime. Chilly temperatures at night allow the grapes to maintain the hard-earned acidity imparted by the limestone soils.’

“Rain - For better or worse, it seldom rains during the growing season. Combined with our dedication to dry farming - concentrated, undiluted grapes result. We only pray for healthy winter rains during dormancy so the vines wake up sensing enough moisture to get through the summer. The vines can be dry-farmed due to the clay, which during the dry summer season, results in vines that struggle to dig deep for the water table and produce concentrated fruit.”

They say the largest impact of the annual dry stretch is the continuation of legacy native root-stock that has thus far survived the scourge of  the root-louse Phyllloxera, which doesn’t like to be parched. They have managed so far to maintain their own-rooting vulnerable Vinifera rather than grafting onto root-stock. Today, 60% of the vines at Stolpman are own-rooted.

Finally, “Tropical Tan - Located at 34.6 degrees latitude, our equatorial solar rays help to ripen the grapes through the long, cool growing season. The sunlight stays strong, seeing us through our Autumn harvest, good ‘ol California sunshine ripens the grapes to their “fullest potential” We rely on it to paint our Roussanne a “Rouss” shade of gold.”

Roussanne can get a bad rap as a varietal for producing singular waxy and weighted wines, hence its traditional use as a blending grape in France’s Rhône Valley. 

Stolpman use new oak only to ‘frame Roussanne’s viscosity’ while all their other wines see only used wood.  

Winemaker notes - “The 2019 Roussanne offers a nose of white peach, baked apple, and toasted spice mix. The mouth is medium-bodied with plenty of acid to keep the wine fresh and structured well through the finish.”

Jen Dunnuck awarded Jeremy’s label release 95 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 94 points, and Wine Enthusiast 91 points. 

This was big enough to stand up to flavorful pasta and sausage with vodka cream sauce, which one might typically pair with a Red Barolo or Montepulciano.  This was a perfect pairing whic as I often write in these pages, amplifies the enjoyment of the wine and the food. 

An extraordinary, unique wine, bold bordering on obtuse, that bursts with expressive vibrant flavor from the beginning - golden colored, medium to full bodied, a firm edge structured stone fruit, peach and apple accented by spice, floral citrus, almond nut, and mineral with bright acidity on the expressive vibrant long finish. 

RM 91 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3896315

https://www.stolpmanvineyards.com/