2016 Stolpman La Cuadrilla Red Blend Ballard Canyon 750 ml

Parker’s Top Value Red From Stolpman

We’ll give you three very good reasons to read just the first paragraph, and then hit “buy” on this 2016 Stolpman La Cuadrilla Red Blend from Ballard Canyon. First, you’re locking into an “unabashedly delicious” red according to Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, which also considers it “an amazing value.” Second, issue #236 of The Advocate lists Santa Barbara’s “Top Values (below $30)” and among the usual suspects—Varner, Calera, Sandhi—this Stolpman La Cuadrilla tops the list. Third, Stolpman is so happy with this blend, it now comprises 10 percent of his entire production. Why? Well… this “beautiful wine, jumping from the glass with notes of roses, violets, wild berry fruits and pomegranate,” is a very special bottling, and you’ll have to keep reading to get the full story...

The idea for “La Cuadrilla” 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. Maybe it seemed a ridiculous idea—but in no time at all, it was evident that they were really onto something.

At first, as word began to spread, La Cuadrilla became the darling of the sommelier community in Santa Barbara. Those somms and all their 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,” Pete Stolpman told me in a recent phone conversation. Simply put, proceeds from the sale of “La Cuadrilla” would go back to the crew. “This became 10 percent of our whole production and it’s what helps us keep such a great crew,” said Stolpman. “They have pride of ownership, and because they are so good, it helps us move faster and be more efficient in the vineyard.

More than a decade later, “La Cuadrilla,” which is Spanish for “the crew,” is on fire in more ways than one. In a terrific 2016 growing season, Ruben directed as his team hand-trimmed each vine on the property. On the first day of harvest, the Stolpmans, Ruben, and “La Cuadrilla” donned headlamps like coal miners. It was midnight. The canyon had cooled off, the breezes pushing in from the coast. From a mile away, neighbors watched as the team moved quickly from vine to vine, hand-clipping clusters, dropping them gingerly into small bins. The Syrah would be sensationally concentrated, already beautifully cut and delineated in barrel. The Grenache was rich, floral and voluminous, while Sangiovese was vibrant and deeply fruited.

As the Advocate described, the 2016 La Cuadrilla boasts an “ample core of juicy fruit, satiny tannins, and a pure finish.” But as we now know, the story is much more profound. It matters where a wine is from, and how it’s made. Hats off to the midnight crew, Ruben, and the Stolpmans for producing something with equal parts deliciousness and integrity.

Jonathan Cristaldi

Editor-in-Chief, Wine Access