Stolpman Vineyards “Crunchy Roastie Rainbow” 2019

Cooperages & Elevage
Stainless steel for 6 months, neutral 500L French oak puncheon for 3 more months.

Total Production
420 cases

At The Winery
Because Crunchy Roastie is picked early, the high acid environment proves to be an inhospitable environment for unwanted bacteria and yeast to thrive. In addition, because of the acidity, the wine remains fresh and lively without the need for preservatives. We bottled both versions of Crunchy Roastie without sulfur “Sans Soufre’

Sensory
The first edition of Cruchy Roastie, bottled out of tank in March, stole our hearts with its delicious primary dark fruit and up-front olive note. After that initial bottling, we put the remainder of the carbonic Syrah lot into barrel and it kept getting better. The fruit profile broadened to incorporate juicy red fruit and the mid-palate fleshed out to become even yummier. We bottled this second “Extended elevage” (extended barrel age) 3 months later.

Background
The Crunchy Roastie “Rainbow Label” is the later-bottled, extended barrel age version of the main lot labeled in black writing. 3 additional months in barrel allowed both the fruit profile to further develop from the primary freshness as well as the mouthfeel to become a bit more fleshy.

We pick these grapes early and “crunchy”, with high acid and low alcohol potential. Then, we utilize whole-grape, un-crushed carbonic fermentation so as not to extract coarse, under-ripe tannin – leaving the wine feathery and chillable. To ensure a pure, luscious fruit profile we utilized the age-old Cote Rotie method of co-fermenting a small percentage of Viognier that heaps on pretty floral aromatics to the darker, brooding Syrah profile.