Medium density ruby with purple edges.  Really stinky.  Huge garden hose, wet loam, fresh blood, old neutral barrel, cellar floor bouquet starts strong and doesn’t really let up too much.  Just on the cusp of being unpleasant–and I am sure it would be unpleasant for a large number of American folks today whose palate’s I am familiar with or who readily expose their palate preferences by what I see selling in the tasting rooms and shops.  No bright fruit-forward jelly-bomb here, sorry.  Instead, massive gamey dark dark dark concentrated black fruit with middle bright notes of plum-skin and bee-sting wash over you.  This is easily the most interesting New World syrah I believe I have ever had.  Almost Malbec-ey in it’s funkiness and tapanade-fruit.  I’ve HAD other Stolpmans.  I do not remember them being such outliers with any particular varietal.  Acids are bright and tannins are either very light or seamlessly integrated into the wonderful ripe finish.  I really like this wine, but it is not for everyone, as noted.  New-World wonks are going to find it funky or ‘dirty’ even.  Flawed OMG!  I guessed 14-3, label states 14-1.  An above-average B

Postlude:  Almost all the wines I drink have some reasonable amount left and are Vac-U-Vin’ed and tasted the following evening.  Typically the results are predictable… Old cabs fall apart, Pinot’s go all fruit-forward and match-head-y, young cabs either disappear into a fruity muss or polish portions which lead me to believe they will age gracefully.  It is very telling, but I do not take it as the Word of God.  Occasionally, a wine tasted the following day will be so noteworthy as to be IMPOSSIBLE not to write an additional note.  This is one of them.

24HRS:  An incredible complicated perfume of $90/oz variety lifts off the top and is quickly followed by a deep nougat-y burnt rubber and espresso bean with a touch of AL.  Fruit in the taste has faded into something you would expect at 10 years but is still deep, rich and darkly ripe.  Phenomenal wine.  Changes to B+