2016 Keplinger Sumo
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
The 2016 Sumo is another positively stunning wine from Helen Keplinger. Petite Sirah takes center stage in an inky, beautifully textured red that hits all the right notes. Here too, I am blown away by the purity and nuance Keplinger coaxes from her sites. The Sumo is heady and explosive, with tons of energy, with impeccable balance and a level of sheer allure that makes it absolutely irresistible, even in the early going.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
This is a fantastic red with blackberries, blueberries and white pepper. Full-bodied, layered and solid. Yet, itâs agile and focused for a petite syrah with a hint of viogner. Drink now.
The inkiest colored wine in the lineup is the 2016 Sumo, which is a Petite Sirah-dominated blend that includes 13% Syrah and 3% Viognier, all from the Shake Ridge Vineyard in Amador County, aged 16 months in 60% new French oak. Its saturated purple color gives way to a ripe, full-bodied red that has good acidity and purity, classic notes of black and blue fruits, lots of minerality, and more nuanced notes of liquid violets, smoked earth, and spice. It’s a layered, ripe, balanced red that I suspect will be drinking nicely in another 15 years or more.
The 2016 Sumo is blended of 93% Petite Sirah and 7% Viognier, aged 16 months in 66% new French oak. It is very deep purple-black in color and a little closed, revealing notes of crushed raspberries, black cherries and warm plums plus hints of wild blueberries, spice box and roses. The palate is full-bodied with a firm frame of very ripe, plush tannins and oodles of freshness lifting the red and black berry flavors to a long perfumed finish. 295 cases produced.