Para Maria already shows off its breadth and complexity at a tender young age. Lively, peppy balance and juicy brambly blackberry. Graphite and cracked pepper create an impression of seriousness with a hint of savory wood from the whole-bunch carbonic fermentation.2016 weather facilitated making a fresh, vibrant red wine. Rather than wait for further sugar accumulation, we had finished harvesting prior to the severe late September heat spike in the Central Coast. Para Maria embodies the confluence of three separate efforts. The core of the wine (56%) is all about Syrah in the traditional, old world approach - taut, pert grapes picked at the peak of ripeness while retaining acidic verve and savory flavors. 28% of the blend adds higher-toned brightness and freshness, via whole-grape, carbonic (without oxygen in a sealed tank) fermentation. 15% of the wine compliments the blend in the opposite direction...giving the blend deep, dark substance and body - in the form of the Petit Verdot addition. The combination of the three elements create a more complex, fulfilling red wine that spans a continuum of high-toned red flavor, through the blues and purples, to dense black fruits - supported by the structure that comes from Ruben's early picking calls and darn good fruit. | Stolpman Vineyards