Showing posts with label Stolpman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stolpman. Show all posts

Saturday, December 1, 2018

Stolpman Santa Ynez Valley Hilltops Syrah 2011

Stolpman Santa Ynez Valley Hilltops Estate Syrah 2011

A couple years ago we were planning a trip to the Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, and Santa Ynez Valleys' wine districts along the South Central California coast. In preparation for the trip we embarked on exploration of wines from the region and acquired several labels from the various appellations to taste so as to establish a baseline of knowledge and understanding of the varietals, styles and terroir effects of the different areas.

Back at that time, niece Jenna was attending UC Santa Barbara and we were hoping for a dual purpose visit and wine trip. In any event, for various reasons our plans were disrupted and we canceled/postponed our trip. This label is one from that collection. We still hope to visit the area at some point to explore another wine region and it's wines. Stay tuned for such a trip report.

This weekend would've been an ideal time to visit as the Big Ten sends three out of the four teams to the NCAA Final Four College Cup soccer tournament in Santa Barbara. Our Indiana Hoosiers are favored to win their ninth National Championship after they defeated Notre Dame Friday night to advance to their twentieth College Cup. They will play University of Maryland. Tonight, Michigan State advanced to the semi-final to represent a command performance by the Big Ten.

We opened this for casual but serious sipping with some artisan cheeses while watching weekend sports, including the NCAA Soccer Tournament.

This was ideal with ten year old Aged Sharp Cheddar as well as creamy Havarti, with fresh berries and pear fruits. Neutral soda crackers were more suited to reveal the native flavors of the wine, cheese and fruits, as opposed to butter crackers or others with overt tastes.

Tonight's tasting was consistent with our earlier tasting of this label back in 2015.

Dark red-ruby, full bodied, aromas of floral and mocha, complex, concentrated big, forward black and blue fruits, tones of anise/licorice, hints of mocha chocolate and herbs, turning to a very long soft savory fruit filled finish.

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1652929

http://www.stolpmanvineyards.com

Friday, November 30, 2018

Stolpman Santa Ynez Valley Hilltops Estate Syrah 2011

A couple years ago we were planning a trip to the Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, and Santa Ynez Valleys' wine districts along the South Central California coast. In preparation for the trip we embarked on exploration of wines from the region and acquired several labels from the various appellations to taste so as to establish a baseline of knowledge and understanding of the varietals, styles and terroir effects of the different areas.

Back at that time, niece Jenna was attending UC Santa Barbara and we were hoping for a dual purpose visit and wine trip. In any event, for various reasons our plans were disrupted and we canceled/postponed our trip. This label is one from that collection. We still hope to visit the area at some point to explore another wine region and it's wines. Stay tuned for such a trip report.

This weekend would've been an ideal time to visit as the Big Ten sends three out of the four teams to the NCAA Final Four College Cup soccer tournament in Santa Barbara. Our Indiana Hoosiers are favored to win their ninth National Championship after they defeated Notre Dame Friday night to advance to their twentieth College Cup. They will play University of Maryland. Tonight, Michigan State advanced to the semi-final to represent a command performance by the Big Ten.

We opened this for casual but serious sipping with some artisan cheeses while watching weekend sports, including the NCAA Soccer Tournament.

This was ideal with ten year old Aged Sharp Cheddar as well as creamy Havarti, with fresh berries and pear fruits. Neutral soda crackers were more suited to reveal the native flavors of the wine, cheese and fruits, as opposed to butter crackers or others with overt tastes.

Tonight's tasting was consistent with our earlier tasting of this label back in 2015.

Dark red-ruby, full bodied, aromas of floral and mocha, complex, concentrated big, forward black and blue fruits, tones of anise/licorice, hints of mocha chocolate and herbs, turning to a very long soft savory fruit filled finish.

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1652929

http://www.stolpmanvineyards.com

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Del Dotto Cabs Stolpman Syrah for Beef Tenderloin Holiday Dinner

Del Dotto Cabs and Stolpman Syrah for Beef Tenderloin Holiday Dinner

For our family holiday dinner, son Ryan went down in the cellar and pulled two producer family wines from two vintages commemorating anniversaries for him and daughter/sister Erin, 1999 and 2001. These two big bold Napa Cabs were ideal to taste with Linda's beef tenderloin dinner. I was eager to try this comparison tasting and expected the 2001 Del Dotto Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon to be at or near its apex, but I had forgotten about and was pleasantly surprised at the resilience shown by the '99. Ryan brought a big bold Stolpman Santa Ynez Valley Syrah to share.

For the starter course I had pulled one of our favorite Napa whites, a vintage Cliff Lede Sauvignon Blanc, but Ryan pulled a current release Hanna Sauvignon Blanc to try first. This is currently on offer at our local wine shops and we wanted to try it see if we should buy more.

Del Dotto is one of our favorite Napa producers and represents the distinctive Rutherford appellation terroir. We hold more than a dozen vintages of Del Dotto going back to their earliest inaugural vintages in the early nineties. We've visited Del Dotto many times in our Napa trips and have featured Dave and Yolanda Del Dotto at several of our wine producer dinners. We got to know the next generation of Del Dottos, and their son Giovanni, for whom their Giovanni's Tuscan Reserve is named, also attended IU, the alma mater for no fewer than thirteen degrees conferred on members of our extended family. See our Del Dotto features on unwindWine.com including Del Dotto - Napa Valley Napa Wine Experience 2003 and Napa Wine Experience 99 to mention a few. 

Del Dotto's cave tours remain one of the most colorful and entertaining of all Napa Valley tasting excursions. Our kids cite Del Dotto as one of the highlights of their Napa Valley wine trips as well. Their spectacular winery and cellar tour right on Route 29 at Zinfandel Lane as you enter St Helena from the south are a must see during a visit to Napa Valley. So it is fitting to enjoy this wine together at a family gathering.

Del Dotto Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

This wine opened with bright racy tones and 'settled' over the course of an hour and a half to be more approachable and polished. This was consistent with my tasting notes from a special dinner back in January of this year. "This 1999 vintage was the artwork of legendary winemaker Nils Venge crafted from Rutherford appellation fruit. At sixteen years, this is a testament to the aging potential of this label as it is still full, firm and vibrant and is just starting to show its age as tones of earth, leather, and tobacco are starting to set in. These tones turned to bright floral note after being open an hour.'

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, firm gripping forward black berry fruits laced with that classic Rutherford dust, complex but nicely balanced with intense dark cherry, black currant and blackberry fruits, a layer of cedar and spicy tangy oak on a lingering finish of tight structured tannins. This was a great complement to the beef tenderloin that matched well with the wine's complexity."

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=616988


Del Dotto Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001


Like the '99, this is drinking at the apex of its drinking window and demonstrates the longevity of Napa Valley Cabernets. While it will not likely improve any further with aging, it still has several years to go at this level. This was actually more subdued than the more vibrant '99.

Medium to full bodied , deep dark ruby color - black berry and sweet black cherry fruits accented by clove spice and a hint cassis and whisper of English toffee on the 'Rutherford Dust' moderate silky tannin finish.

RM 91 points.

This same wine is featured in their extraordinary Connoisseurs Series in which they age the same wine in a variety of oak cooperages to highlight the different oak influences on the wine. We featured a horizontal tasting of the 2001 Del Dotto Connoisseur Series last year as listed on unwindWine.com site

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=485814

http://www.deldottovineyards.com/

Stolpman Vineyards "Hilltops" Santa Ynez Valley Syrah 2011

Ryan brought this over, the remains of a bottle he had opened earlier. A totally different style and tasting profile from the more elegant and complex Cabernet Sauvignons, this was narrower but deeper, bolder and bigger, in your face fruit forward style. We love this style of wine but normally reserve these for barbecue, bold bright pasta dishes or hearty cheeses.

Dark red-ruby, full bodied, aromas of floral and mocha, complex, concentrated big, forward black and blue fruits, tones of anise/licorice, tones of mocha chocolate and herbs, turning to a very long soft savory fruit filled finish.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1652929

http://www.stolpmanvineyards.com