Anyone who travels through San Francisco airport (SFO) and has 30 minutes to kill has probably perused one of the wine stores that dot themselves throughout. This bottle was purchased on one of those days back in March of 2010. Like I am apt to do, I put this in the cellar and figured it would come out at some later date. So out it came last night after I returned from, surprise, California (with a few bottles of Petite Syrah from Turley, but that is for another day). Ojai is a small city just north of Los Angeles and only a few miles east of Santa Barbara. While not known as a foremost wine region, Ojai Vineyards has produced some great wines over the years. The vineyard produces up to 8 single vineyard Syrahs (depending on the year) and this one in particular comes from the Bien Nacido vineyard. Bien Nacido is much closer to the ocean (West of Ojai) than Ojai, this allows for both good summer heat and cooler winds than their more eastern vineyards. This type of climate allows the varietal to grow similar to old world Rhone Syrahs. So how does this taste? Read on.
This inky wine is showing hints of rust as it is now 10 years old. The nose is plum and smoke with hints of spice. The initial sips show good fruit and even tannins. As you get deeper into the wine the balance remains, the tannins are firm but not overwhelming and the fruit is constant. Plum and and sweet berries (raspberry and blueberry) are distinctive but there is a hint of pepper. Overall this wine is ready to go and if you have had the patience to cellar it till now I do recommend opening and enjoying it as this ready to go. A good solid wine worth the original $40 spent.
The CWG Subjective Rating is 89 out of 100.
