Para Maria 2022
Stolpman / Solorzano Family Collaboration
Maria “Lupe” Solorzano is shy around visitors and quick to smile. For anyone that sees her in action, it is clear that she leads by the example of her own work ethic. Maria is most comfortable in her routine of perpetual motion out on the vineyard – checking the vines and directing the crew. Maria, solely in charge with a quiet, commanding presence, heads the day-to-day operation at Stolpman. She runs perhaps the hardest working, most passionate vineyard crew in the world. On a daily basis she teaches La Cuadrilla new techniques to execute a constant barrage of experiments – often adapting on the fly – figuring out practical ways of farming ridiculously high-density vineyards by hand, or training canopies for ideal shading and wind-flow.
Label Art: The nickname for villagers from Santa Cruz de las Flores, Jalisco; Maria’s hometown, is “Tecolote” – or night owl. The name stems from the popular late night parties thrown in the town. Maria and La Cuadrilla also turn nocturnal for three months out of the year to harvest in the cold night air for maximum freshness. A resident female Great Horned Owl is the most prolific rodent-control beast on the vineyard.
The second year of drought brought reduced yields throughout Santa Barbara County. The resulting small clusters burst with flavor concentration. A Labor Day heatwave accelerated ripening and we started harvesting Syrah for carbonic fermentation in early October, followed by traditionally crushed Syrah later in October, and finally picked the Petit Verdot in November.
2022 Para Maria delivers delicate, medium-bodied perfection all about the red hues. Ripe yet bright, the wine stays lifted and high toned on its journey through the mouth. Concentrated Petit Verdot density plays sneakily on the mid-palate before swooping back up to a crisp finish of wild berries and red apples. The gentle touch of early-harvested, whole-grape fermented Syrah carries the day, relying on balancing acidity rather than dry tannins on the finish. The crushed Syrah plays a secondary role in giving the wine a pleasurable lushness behind the fresh, crunchy red fruits.