2013 Stolpman Vineyards Originals Syrah Estate Ballard Canyon

In retrospect, it’s probably good that we didn’t make those steak dinner bets.

In 2002, as the news broke that Stolpman Vineyard was done selling grapes to names like Sine Qua Non and Ojai from their oldest and most coveted Syrah block, we were willing to bet dinner with anyone who would listen that they’d be the Next Hottest Thing in California Syrah, with prices and waiting lists to match.

Now, nearly two decades later, Stoplman’s wines are better than they’ve ever been, but their Originals bottling (from the oldest Syrah plantings in Ballard Canyon’s limestone-rich soils) still remains an insider secret. Today we have the 2013 at prices that would have been inconceivably low to us even in 2002.

Tasting, it’s evident that this is one of the premier Syrahs of the New World. We were expecting fireworks (we knew the 2013 was crafted by star winemaker Sashi Moorman), but weren’t prepared for how electric this wine would be. The nose was expansive, with ripe Brooks plums and Keralan pepper on the nose. We were mesmerized. The palate was all plush power; a Cadillac ride with a muscle car engine. Ripe blackberries, more pepper and a hint of iris swirled around our mouths before a long, slightly smokey finish. We couldn’t wait to pour more—and to share this wine with our members.

While Sine Qua Non was turning itself from an unknown garagiste to a bonafide cult sensation in the 90s, Stolpman Vineyards remained a cherished insider secret. We knew that their original plantings of Syrah were the beating heartbeat of legendary SQN Syrahs like the 100-point Just For the Love of It, Midnight Oil, and On Your Toes (99-points Parker), so it seemed inevitable that Stolpman’s wines would become unaffordable and impossible to get once they started keeping their best fruit for themselves.

This is a masterpiece of a wine, from one of the most important vineyards in California—the specific vines that put Ballard Canyon Syrah on the map. By any rational narrative, this wine should be more than twice as expensive (Sine Qua Non wines start at $200…) but we’re able to offer this to Wine Access members at a weeknight tariff.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 14.10%
• Enjoy right away
• Drink Up
• % Syrah
• Serving temperature – 62°
• Cork