During the elevage of the 2007 Syrah Hilltops Estate (100% Syrah) the fruit is passed over the lees of the Roussanne used for the L’Avion. Cropped at 1.5 tons of fruit per acre (from the vineyard’s highest peaks), this beauty offers sweet blackberry, honeysuckle, and black cherry notes intermixed with hints of smoke, chocolate, and espresso roast. This inky/purple-tinged wine boasts a superb texture, sweet, velvety tannins, and a long finish. It is an intriguing California Syrah that offers a style mid-way between a classic Central Coast Syrah and a wine from the northern Rhone (such as Cote Rotie). Consume it over the next decade. Stolpman is a relatively large 220-acre estate (not yet fully planted) in the Ballard Canyon, twenty-five miles from the Pacific Ocean. The winemaker is Sashi Moorman, who continues to demonstrate his enviable talent across a broad spectrum of Rhone Ranger wines. Tel. (805) 688-0400