2017 Stolpman Vineyards La Cuadrilla Red Blend Ballard Canyon 750 ml

Stolpman’s Red Blend: Equal Parts Deliciousness and Integrity

Pete Stolpman is a perennial favorite on Wine Access because pound-for-pound, bottles bearing the “Stolpman” name always deliver the goods. Such is the case with the 2017 Stolpman La Cuadrilla from Ballard Canyon, a full-bodied red blend, densely packed with refined tannins and an intense juicy core of fruit—it’s not just one of our favorite Stolpman bottles, it’s one topping the list of previous buyers as well.

One happy member called the last vintage, “A delightfully smooth and fruity wine,” adding, “Next time will be a case buy. Superb value.”

Another declared it, “The perfect accompaniment to BBQ meats on a summer evening.”

But here’s a comment that sums it up nicely: “This has to be one of the best values ever offered....”

Here’s your chance to see what other wine lovers are talking about—Pete Stolpman’s 2017 La Cuadrilla is just $23 a bottle—a small price to pay for an entire summer of joy.

If you still need convincing, consider this: La Cuadrilla has landed on Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate as “an amazing value,” in a list of “Top Values (below $30).” It’s not only a great wine, packed with delicious wild berry fruits and floral aromatics, it’s also a generous wine, which literally gives back to the men and women who make it. Proceeds from each bottle go directly to the vineyard crew.

The idea first bloomed in the late 1990s. Stolpman’s expert viticulturist, the Mexican-born, Ruben Solorzano first started giving his vineyard crew their own vineyard block to make some wine. Ruben and Tom Stolpman wanted the crew to enjoy the fruits of their labor and to understand the impacts of all the meticulous work they do in the vineyard.

As word began to spread, La Cuadrilla became the darling of the sommelier community in Santa Barbara. Those somms and all their Wine Spectator Grand Award wine lists tipped off a lot of consumers.

“In 2010 when I took over, I wanted to make it more significant and give back more to the crew because their work really is what makes our wines what they are,” says Pete Stolpman, who decided that proceeds from the sale of La Cuadrilla would go back to the crew. “It gives them pride of ownership, and because they are so good at their work, it helps us move faster and be more efficient in the vineyard.”

More than a decade later, La Cuadrilla (Spanish for “the crew”), gets better and better with each vintage. In 2017, donning headlamps, Reuben, the crew, and Pete started harvesting in the dark, moving quickly from vine to vine, hand-clipping clusters, dropping them gingerly into small bins.

The growing season ushered in ideal weather and a return to normal yield levels. Two mid-harvest heat spikes resulted in a more supple, concentred vintage where Syrah, Grenache, and Sangiovese delivered a rich, ripe-fruited, floral and voluminous red. Hats off to the midnight crew, Ruben, and the Stolpmans for producing another year of La Cuadrilla with equal parts deliciousness and integrity.