Winemaker Notes
Popping the cork, the nose screams of dark, brooding Syrah – a slam dunk in a blind tasting. Telltale blood and tar further seal the deal. The wine quickly opens up, dominated by delicate red fruits that pierce and crackle – bordering on peppermint, and ride high over a tantalizing fleshiness that has already completely enveloped tannins, even upon release. Balancing savory dried herbs round out this beautifully built Syrah masterpiece. On the finish, those same fresh red fruits still sing backed up by hints of smoke and char. The wine is clearly still in its infancy and it will evolve into a benchmark vintage for Ballard Canyon Syrah.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Syrah Estate Grown offers a kiss of game and bacon fat as well as textbook dark fruits and peppery, violet-laced aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied, well-made, fruit-forward, and delicious, I’d happily drink a glass.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2019 Stolpman Vineyards Ballard Canyon Syrah is packed and attractive on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine exhibits pleasing aromas and flavors of black fruit, anise, and hints of oak. Try it with a well-spiced, oven-roasted Porchetta. (Tasted: May 26, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Accounting for only ten percent of the greater Santa Ynez AVA, Ballard Canyon’s north-south orientation provides an ideal pattern of sunshine and martime fog for producing excellent Syrah. While Syrah is planted to half of the total AVA acreage, an additional third is dedicated to other Rhône varieties, red and white.