2019 Stolpman Syrah The Great Places August James Stolpman
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The 2019 Syrah August James comes from own-rooted, hand-farmed vines planted at very high density and trained in the Côte Rôtie style. Vines are propagated using a layering technique: a portion of the stem from the original mother vine is buried under the soil to create new plants. From 50 vines in 2013, this unique parcel encompassed 12,000 vines by the end of 2016. "When I smelled this wine, I knew this was the path," recalls proprietor Pete Stolpman, who recently purchased additional parcels adjacent to this one. "This wine redefines our potential." Medium ruby-purple, the August James Syrah has aromas of cassis and dried violets with wafts of tobacco, pencil shavings and citrus peel. The medium-bodied palate has a ton of personality! It's bright and spicy with crunchy fruits, accents of charcuterie and iron, firm, chalky tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with great length. Around 140 cases were made, and a bit more will be made as additional vines come online.
Critic scores
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Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Erin Brooks, Wine Advocate
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The 2019 Syrah August James Stolpman is the most compelling wine I have ever tasted from Stolpman. It was made from a block planted predominantly with material taken from one of the top sites in Cornas. You can probably guess which domaine. The 2019 is inky and seamless in the glass. Layers of dark red-fleshed fruit, lavender, spice and black pepper all soar out of the glass. This is a tremendous showing for a wine made from own-rooted vines in just their third leaf. The August James Stolpman is a great, great, great American Syrah. Don't miss it!