Tell me About Ojai syrahs please . . . .

WINE TALK
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I’m embarassed to say that I know very little about this winery other than knowing the name. I love syrah but drink very little of it made from California; not a swipe just a fact. I am a member of Copain and love their syrahs. Have enjoyed Lagier Meredith, Cabot and some Bedrocks. Ojai, I know I have tried it many years ago, but too long for me to remember much.

So I get one of my daily email flyers from my favorite retailer touting a “Cote Rotie from California” with critics scoring it from Tanzer 92 to CG 96 and WA and RR in between. Yea, I know, points suck on this site, but I opened the email, intrigued. The critics’ write-ups seem to describe a wine that would be too ripe for my tastes, one saying don’t look at the 15.3 ABV, which is typically a deal-killer for me, but various descriptors that read Northern Rhone. Apparently some blends are even cofermented with Viognier.

At $39.99 I may take a shot, but curious about this winery. Location, micro-climate, elevation, soil, wine-making style, etc.


2008 Ojai Syrah Roll Ranch Vineyard, Santa Barbara

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Lots of Ojai Vineyards wines come from the Santa Barbara, SRH, etc north of the actual Ojai town itself. There is the Roll vineyard for syrah in Ojai which scored very well.

http://m.klwines.com/p/i?i=1116555

Have not had this wine. Enjoyed the bottle I did have and typical SB style syrah.

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Calling Tom Hill, who has followed Adam from the start . . .

I haven’t had any recent vintages, but historically, Ojai syrahs have carried their ripeness well, with enough savoriness and without overwhelming sweet oak that I haven’t perceived them as overwhelmingly “sweet”.

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Ojai Vineyard is run by Adam Tolmach, one of the early vintners along with folks like Sanford and Longoria to take interest in Santa Barbara County as a major wine region. Very good producer, I’d say, who cares about balance. The wines I tasted a few years back were generally larger than what you would find from old world producers, but that is what the terroir yields.

Roll Ranch is in Ventura County and I believe is warmer than their other sources in SB County like Bien Nacido and White Hawk Vineyards. Looking at some of my notes, I’ve tasted the '05 Roll Ranch, '05 Bien Nacido and '07 SBC Syrah. The Roll Ranch was my least favorite, but of course this is several vintages back. It struck me as riper and less elegant.

While I don’t know about the '08 vintage, I think in general the Ojai Syrahs from the Santa Rita Hills, Los Alamos, and Santa Maria areas will be more to your taste. Bien Nacido would be a great one to try if you can find it.

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You rang, sir???
I have, of course, followed AdamTolmach/Ojai from the very start. flirtysmile
When I had the ‘83…I wrote Adam a nice note on how good it was. Nothing back. Over the next probably 5-6 yrs, I’d send him my TN’s & big compliments.
No nuthin’ back. Finally…maybe around '90…got a postcard back from Adam…“Thanks”. That was it. It wasn’t until the early '90’s that I finally
met Adam…at a WineCask Futures tasting. Next yr I finally did a visit there in Ojai. I had actually visited his wnry yrs earlier when it was in SamHale’s dairy barn
up in (the lesser) LosAlamos, but Adam was not there, only BobLindquist and JimClendennen. Adam probably saw me turn into the driveway and beat a
hasty exit. As you can guess…Adam’s not that good at public relations & shmoozing w/ customers. SashiMoorman was Adam’s asst there in that first Ojai
visit. Since then I’ve visited Adam numerous times…very good friends. On one visit, I saw a few barrels marked “SQN”. When I asked Adam what they were…
he gave me this sheepish grin and replied “ManfredKrankel…of Campanille in LosAngeles…you ought to meet him”.
In 1983, the first really great (well…pretty danged good) Calif Syrahs were produced (the first was the Phelps '74…sucked big time. The next were the
Eberle Syrahs '76…rather pretty wines…just that…but gave a glimpse of the potential for Syrah in Calif). They were Bonny Doon, Ojai, Qupe; all from
BienNacido (Block X…but not designated as such…the only Syrah at BN at that time). And SierraVista, from the MacCready’s vnyd up in ElDorado.
The Ojai and BonnyDoon died first…maybe about 10 yrs out. The Qupe was still great at 20 yrs. The SierraVista outlived them all.
Let’s see…back to the original question…Ojai Syrahs…guess I must know a little about these.
As for “CoteRotie from Calif”??? We have a saying in Kansas…“horsepuckey” [snort.gif]
Adam makes a basic SantaBarbaraCnty Syrah that is very tasty…and very fairly priced. He also makes vnyd-designate Syrahs:
RollRanch/Thompson/Melville/BienNacido/Presidio/WhiteHawk/Verna’s…may another one now & then, not every one every year.
My least favorite is the RollRanch. Grown in the Upper Ojai Vlly, it s the hotest vnyd from where Adam sources Syrah. It has the lowest
acidity, most alcohol…big opulent fruit, shortest lived (may 10-12 yrs). But…that said…it’s still awfully good Syrah.
My favorites are the Melville and the Presidio. Both authentic cold-climate Syrah in the StaRitaHills (actually…not Presidio…just outside
the western bndry of StaRitaHills. Adam is the only one getting Syrah from the actual MelvilleEstate, though Melville owns Verna’s
up near (the other) LosAlamos. The Thompson is typically the longest-lived of Adam’s Syrahs (10-15-20 yrs). The BienNacido, from
the Hillside block (also goes to Qupe/Jaffurs/others), is also pretty cold-climate…very fragrant/perfumed.
So…anywho…long/boring answer to a simple question…you can’t go wrong w/ the Ojai Syrahs…some of the best Syrahs being made in Calif.
Just don’t expect a CoteRotie.
Tom

PS: Greg’s answer was better & more to the point…right on.

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Tom - awesome post. thanks.

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The '08 Roll Ranch needs time IMHO. In fact all the Ojai’s that I have enjoyed had many years on them. I had a '97 Bien Nacido a few months back that was still singing. The '06’s I had were just starting to come around. So my advice is patience with the Ojai.
If you have an interest in Central Coast syrah, try the single vineyard offerings from Jaffurs, especially the Verna’s and the Bien Nacido. The '07’s and '08’s are excellent right now. The Bien Nacido is the less ripe of the two and may be more the style that you seek. You can still find them on Winesearcher from time to time. Excellent syrahs.

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Tom, I knew you would provide a good response, but you surpassed my expectations. I agree with you that analogizing Ojai to Cote Rotie is ridiculous, and Ojai can stand on its own.

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Since this is in my neck of the woods thought I would chime in…

Went to pick up my shipment last weekend and tasted through some nice wines…the highlight being the '07 Thompson Syrah and his first crack at a Sangiovese from White Hawk…it was beautiful and worth seeking out.

I love both his Pinot and Syrahs with some age to them. The Henry Daniel '97 is something special. The only exception was a '95 Ben Larenzo BN Pinot. Beautiful bottle with art from Manfred but the wine was awkward and tired.

His whites are also very well made. Everyone should give Adam’s wines a swirl…

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Tom,

I have one mag of 97 Henry Daniel left, any thoughts on that one?

Thanks,
Steve

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Yup…maybe, Ryan. I have…ahem…followed Adam’s whites from the very start. [snort.gif]
His SauvBlanc, from out in the HappyCanyon area, is one of the best in Calif. His (RollRanch) Viognier is also deelish.
However, his Chards and Rieslings have been making a transition in style. Picking earlier, lower alcohols… they can have
a pretty screechy acidity to them when young. Not to everyone’s taste. Yet they don’t come off as green or eviscerated
as some of that style do. And I think they will age just fine. But some you have to be an acid-freak to appreciate. I am one such.
Tom

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Not had one in prolly 4-5 yrs. Should be doing just fine. Maybe I’ll crack one this weekend and get back to you, Steve.
Tom

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Let me just add that the Ojai pinots and chards are also very nice wines for the price, including both wines from Ben Nacido and Clos Pepe (though the Clos Pepe wines may now be discontinued?). These wines can age, have solid concentration but are generally balanced with nice acidity and moderate alcohol. Again, quality wines at reasonable prices. [cheers.gif]

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Thanks so much, all!

From what I am reading, I pass on this '08 Roll Ranch but try others.

Cheers.

R

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We had it out of a mag last summer. I would drink now… It’s not going to get better in my view. It’s a beautiful wine but in a slight decline.

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Well, Robert…I think the $40 for this is a more than fair price and will be a good way to renew your aquaintance
with Ojai. If this is only one available…I’d go for it. Or look around for some of the others.
Tom

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Tom - Thanks for that wonderful post.

Do you remember Ch. Lauren from Paso Robles? That was the label on an awesome syrah in the mid-80s that Claude Kolm and I tasted blindly among Northern Rhones, where it did NOT stand out as Californian. As I recall, it was some kind of negotiant bottling. It was about $5 a bottle at the time, so I stashed a few away. It didn’t age like a Northern Rhone, but there was some mighty find fruit there. I’m curious if anyone else recalls that.

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I used to live not too far from Ojai and like Adam’s wines quite a bit. He recently sent out an offer for his 2010 Santa Barbara County syrah ($26/bottle for 6 w/free shipping IIRC), which is a blend of several vineyards. This is his entry level syrah and might be a good place for you to start, if you can get it. I bought 6, and haven’t tried one yet, but I’m sure it will be fine based on past experience.

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Nope…don’t seem to recall that wine at all, John. Just some vague recollect, but may be thinking of Ch.Laurene…
At that price, it could very well have been that last call on the Eberle Syrah that Meridian was unloading.
Tom

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Now that I think about it, I think it was Domaine Lauren. I believe it came from one established syrah vineyard in Paso Robles.