Anyone know the skinny on this wine? Is it worth $27? TIA.

jb

"bump"

i just received a mailer from "the ojai vineyard". any advice?

pre arrival offer:
00 chardonnay talley-rincon $22
01 viognier ice wine $20
00 syrah roll ranch $36
00 syrah stolpman $30

also available but limited:
00 syrah santa barbara county $24
00 pinot noir bien nacido $37.50

thanks!

My answer is "it depends". I would need to know if you are familiar with Ojai's syrahs. If you've had any previously and liked them, you should like the '00 Santa Barbara. His syrahs are somewhat stylistically unique, with lots of blueberry fruit and yet lots of structure. This wine was designated "California" in the past and in '00 got the designation "Santa Barbara" because Adam Tolmach was able to get a sufficient quantity of good local grapes (a good thing-his Estate wines are from the same general area). This wine is reportedly big (I bought six but haven't opened one yet) and in need of several years time. Young Ojai's generally don't drink that well. I opened a '98 "California" a year from release and it was closed up big time. This wine can be had for as little as $20 at some big mail order operations (think Tustin, CA) and at that price, represents a hell of a bargain for a serious syrah meant to age. So in summary, if you like the Ojai style and are looking for some wines to cellar as opposed to drinking near term, this is a great wine IMHO.

thank you. no, i haven't had any ojai wines before. you have given me great info, tho.


(additional info edit)

wow, the mailer recommends 24 hour decanting if the stolpman is to be consumed young!

[ 10-01-2002, 01:38 PM: Message edited by: tbirdbass ]

tbirdbass -
in case you want another opinion (mine are pretty similar to F Sonic) here is one from someone that grew up in Ojai and has been drinking adams juice for years. I love his wine and would recommend getting some. The stoplman and thompson in particular are wines that need to be put in a deep dark whole but are well worth the wait. Roll ranch, on the other hand, tends to be much more enjoyable early, a mear 4 hours in a decanter and you will love it now. Get the SB as well, my guess is it will be one of the better sub $30 you are able to enjot from CA

cheers
jeff

tbird. I purchased some Roll Ranch and Stolpman but have not received. Ojai makes wonderful in-your-face Syrahs, but you should let them cellar for a bit. I brought a '98 Roll Ranch to our off-site dinner last week and it was showing well, although it can definately stand some more time in the bottle.

jb -

I don't know if it's the same bottle I had or not (i.e. I don't remember the exact label) but...

http://web8.winespectator.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=003915&p=