Winemaker Notes
Soft, light salmon-pink in color the 2020 is the most delicate and fine-tuned estate rose to date. Blooming rose petals on the nose with a swirl of lychee, white peach, hibiscus, and rhubarb all tightly woven into a pristinely delicate pink wine. A lively "sweet and sour" melon carries through the finish married with the crisp, clean back palate.
Blend: 62% Grenache, 28% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2020 Stolpman Vineyards Ballad Canyon Rosé is fresh, pure, and clean. TASTING NOTES: This wine brings attractive aromas and flavors of lively red fruit and hints of chalk to the table. Pair it with Ahi tuna handrolls. (Tasted: May 26, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
Whether it’s playful and fun or savory and serious, most rosé today is not your grandmother’s White Zinfandel, though that category remains strong. Pink wine has recently become quite trendy, and this time around it’s commonly quite dry. Since the pigment in red wines comes from keeping fermenting juice in contact with the grape skins for an extended period, it follows that a pink wine can be made using just a brief period of skin contact—usually just a couple of days. The resulting color depends on grape variety and winemaking style, ranging from pale salmon to deep magenta.
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.