The 2017 Mourvèdre Sun + Earth is a powerful, dense wine, but like all of the Stolpman 2017s, the Sun + Earth retains terrific freshness to play off some of the more overt elements that come so naturally in this Ballard Canyon site. Hints of tobacco, menthol, leather, licorice and spice add shades of nuance to this super-expressive red. The Mourvèdre alone is terrific, but I am not sure it is at its best alone. The Sun + Earth emerges from one of the head-pruned, own-rooted blocks on the property, and was done with fully destemmed fruit.
- Antonio Galloni