90 2006 Stolpman Santa Ynez Valley Syrah 11/27/09 ($18)
15.1% alc
Color: Deep red and black cherry. (3.0) Bouquet: Cherry pie with some leather and cedar. (3.0) Body: Light heavyweight with excellent fruit and a nice balance between acidity and tannin. Coats the mouth. (3.0) Flavor: Parallels bouquet with a bit more leather. Juicy and very tasty. (3.0) Finish: Parallels flavor with some tree bark thrown in. (3.0)
Overall: An excellent Syrah, which shows consistent flavors from start to finish of juicy cherry pie fruit, varietally-correct leather/forestal nuances and some cedar. An outstanding value that exemplifies what today's best, modern style wines are about, i.e., excellent fruit, body and balance with just enough complexity to make them compelling. This often translates into high QPR in the $18-25 range, but many producers of these gems have trouble elevating the quality of their top-notch bottlings, for instance, single vineyard bottlings in the $40+ range, high enough above these mid-priced offerings to be worth the price difference. With this in mind, I hope to try one of Stolpman's single vineyard Syrahs in the near future. (15.0)
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