USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
(8/11/2006)
(This is a copy of a note from 5 months ago, as I didn't want to open another one of these bottles for my Ojai/Thompson retrospective. This note was orignally written in the context of a horzontal tasting all of the Ojai 2001 syrahs, not in the context of a vertical tasting of all of the Thompsons...)
Hard to tell. This was the last in my series of 2001 Ojai syrah tastings, and probably the most useful. This wine, the Thompson, was by far the most closed of the wines, hiding a core of fruit (that appeared much stronger 2 hours after opening, so beware) under a big, huge blanket of tannin and other "closed-ness" factors, if I can be so scientific.
The fruit is the best of the lot as far as these syrahs have demonstrated, even as it's hard to find. It's the one that show the most striking appearance of earth and dirt, the most "complex" of the flavors of these six Ojai syrahs. It's grapey and cherry and black fruit flavors compare well with the more ostentatious but simpler fruits of the other vineyards, and the appearance of the more complex flavors bode well (I think) for the future.
I suspect that this wine will outlive all of them, as long as the Melville doesn't last forever through sheer brute force, and I really liked this one, but just not now. I wish that I could score this one an 89(96) because that's where I think that it's going, but in the end, I'll give it a 93 and hope that in the future, I'll be reading these notes before I pick a bottle to drink...
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
(7/19/2006)
This is a wine in serious danger of becoming mature, and I don't mean that derisively. The tannin is mostly (but not completly) resolved, the "typical low acidity" (he says with a sneer) isn't so low, and it nicely balances out the rest of the wine, and the flavors have resolved into a very nice mix of black cherry, mocha, and charred wood, with a mushroomy, foresty floor background. This is one of the first Ojai syrahs that I purchased years ago, and I'm happy to have let this one rest for all of these years.
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
(7/27/2006)
Still fiercely tannic. Needs more years. Many more years? 2012? Still has a depth that seems to indicate that it won't lose much in the way of flavors, but it doesn't seem as deep as the new vintages, and I hope that the fruit outlives the tannins...
Rich, viscous wine that at 9 years old, is still holding up quite well, thank you very much. Tastes of blueberries; plums; deep, dark, ripe cassis; sandalwood and charcoal make this wine the real deal. Still has quite a few years left on it, as it shows no signs of fading anytime soon. Excellent mouthfeel, very good nose, and an excellent length make the package very appealing. This was one of the first Ojai syrahs that I purchased 6 years ago, and I wish that I had more than one of my original half-case remaining.
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
(8/12/2006)
This is my first bottle of 6 that I purchased from the winery (can you believe that I waited this long?) and this bottling, while quite tasty, is pretty far from being ready. It's a bit more advanced than the 1999 and 2001 versions, which are still both quite rough, but it could still use another few years. The 2000 bottling has a fantastic nose and an excellent length with a great intensity on the palate. It takes a few hours to reveal all of the fruit that it has to offer (blueberries, canned dark cherries, and lots of meaty, bacon fat-ty tastes and smells, but it's worth the wait, as the 5-minute-opened sampling of this bottle was, uh, less nice to drink.
I don't think that this wine is as rough or as iffy as the 2001 Thompson, but I also believe that the payout may be less if, indeed, the 2001 version comes around, which I suspect that it will a number of years after this one. This one (the 2000) is much more likable than the 1999 version.
I'll give this one a slightly onservative score in the antiicpation that in a few years, it'll be quite a bit better, rivaling the 1997 version that we had last night.
2001 Ojai Syrah Thompson Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
(8/11/2006)
(This is a copy of a note from 5 months ago, as I didn't want to open another one of these bottles for my Ojai/Thompson retrospective. This note was orignally written in the context of a horzontal tasting all of the Ojai 2001 syrahs, not in the context of a vertical tasting of all of the Thompsons...)
Hard to tell. This was the last in my series of 2001 Ojai syrah tastings, and probably the most useful. This wine, the Thompson, was by far the most closed of the wines, hiding a core of fruit (that appeared much stronger 2 hours after opening, so beware) under a big, huge blanket of tannin and other "closed-ness" factors, if I can be so scientific.
The fruit is the best of the lot as far as these syrahs have demonstrated, even as it's hard to find. It's the one that show the most striking appearance of earth and dirt, the most "complex" of the flavors of these six Ojai syrahs. It's grapey and cherry and black fruit flavors compare well with the more ostentatious but simpler fruits of the other vineyards, and the appearance of the more complex flavors bode well (I think) for the future.
I suspect that this wine will outlive all of them, as long as the Melville doesn't last forever through sheer brute force, and I really liked this one, but just not now. I wish that I could score this one an 89(96) because that's where I think that it's going, but in the end, I'll give it a 93 and hope that in the future, I'll be reading these notes before I pick a bottle to drink...
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1998 Ojai Syrah Thompson Vineyard 94 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
(7/19/2006)
This is a wine in serious danger of becoming mature, and I don't mean that derisively. The tannin is mostly (but not completly) resolved, the "typical low acidity" (he says with a sneer) isn't so low, and it nicely balances out the rest of the wine, and the flavors have resolved into a very nice mix of black cherry, mocha, and charred wood, with a mushroomy, foresty floor background. This is one of the first Ojai syrahs that I purchased years ago, and I'm happy to have let this one rest for all of these years.
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1999 Ojai Syrah Thompson Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
(7/27/2006)
Still fiercely tannic. Needs more years. Many more years? 2012? Still has a depth that seems to indicate that it won't lose much in the way of flavors, but it doesn't seem as deep as the new vintages, and I hope that the fruit outlives the tannins...
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1997 Ojai Syrah Cuvée Henry Daniel 95 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
(8/11/2006)
Rich, viscous wine that at 9 years old, is still holding up quite well, thank you very much. Tastes of blueberries; plums; deep, dark, ripe cassis; sandalwood and charcoal make this wine the real deal. Still has quite a few years left on it, as it shows no signs of fading anytime soon. Excellent mouthfeel, very good nose, and an excellent length make the package very appealing. This was one of the first Ojai syrahs that I purchased 6 years ago, and I wish that I had more than one of my original half-case remaining.
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2000 Ojai Syrah Special Bottling Thompson Vineyard 93 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
(8/12/2006)
This is my first bottle of 6 that I purchased from the winery (can you believe that I waited this long?) and this bottling, while quite tasty, is pretty far from being ready. It's a bit more advanced than the 1999 and 2001 versions, which are still both quite rough, but it could still use another few years. The 2000 bottling has a fantastic nose and an excellent length with a great intensity on the palate. It takes a few hours to reveal all of the fruit that it has to offer (blueberries, canned dark cherries, and lots of meaty, bacon fat-ty tastes and smells, but it's worth the wait, as the 5-minute-opened sampling of this bottle was, uh, less nice to drink.
I don't think that this wine is as rough or as iffy as the 2001 Thompson, but I also believe that the payout may be less if, indeed, the 2001 version comes around, which I suspect that it will a number of years after this one. This one (the 2000) is much more likable than the 1999 version.
I'll give this one a slightly onservative score in the antiicpation that in a few years, it'll be quite a bit better, rivaling the 1997 version that we had last night.
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