Ultima Tulie Red Blend Santa Ynez Valley 2021

In Latin, Ultima Tulie (or Thule) translates roughly to “the highest degree attainable, the farthest point, the limit of any journey.” At the end of the day, is ultima tulie not what we’re all striving for? We endeavor to make the most of life, careers, and time with family and friends. Cameron Stoeffel has crafted his wines with ultima tulie as the forethought and ethos, so he works with intention and pushes beyond any “perceived or self-imposed limits.” His momentum is ramping up, and despite his humble winemaking beginnings, Cameron’s trajectory seems destined to soar past his expectations.

Cameron might think his path to wine was unconventional, but it’s quite like many of the winemakers we see at ACME. Wine became a second career for him, all because of a so-to-speak “calling” from the vines. An innate calling to nature and passion for the product that couldn’t be quelled. We repeatedly hear this story and ask, “When did you get bit by the wine bug?” The bug bit Cameron in college when he started taking elective viticulture classes while studying for a graphic design degree. He chose harvest internships each summer rather than design to get closer to the vineyards and explore. With a bit of help from fate, he landed a gig at Herman Story Wines in Paso Robles and hasn’t looked back. As a member of a small team, Cameron has a hand in many different winery duties, including production, packaging, and sales. This job allowed him to begin making his wine, and he cheekily boasts that the first “vintage” was crafted in a beautiful, shiny, new trash can and stored in a closet at the winery. All the wine was bottled by his hands and shared by family and friends. Ultima Tulie has come a long way since the days of closets and tin cans, yet Cameron insists that every bottle still passes through his hands.

The 2021 Red Blend is an almost even split of Cabernet Franc (57%) and Petit Verdot (43%) from the Vincent vineyard in Santa Ynez Valley. Santa Ynez Valley is the largest AVA in Santa Barbara County. It has a wide-ranging variety of terroirs due to the east-west orientation of the corridor and varying soils based on elevation. Vincent Vineyard lies further east in the valley, where temperatures are warmer than those properties on the western coast. However, the vines still benefit from the cool Pacific winds pulled inland to balance the differential in temperature, making for prime conditions for sturdier varietals like Cab Franc and Petit Verdot. The well-draining, shallow soils force the vines to struggle, resulting in low yields of concentrated fruit.

Cameron’s Red Blend spent 27 months in 25% new French oak before bottling. Fresh herbs and cherry tomato plants fill the vegetable garden on the property and make their way into the aromatics of the wine. Hints of strawberry leather and orange peel on the nose entice one to the first sip of this powerful yet lush wine. Black cherries and dark chocolate lead the bright front palate, with bold but rounded tannins filling the mid palate. Extended time in barrel complements the spiced, woodsy traits of the Petit Verdot and allows the dark fruit tones of Cabernet Franc to meld seamlessly.