The Ojai Vineyard, Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah, Santa Maria Valley

Nothing stands out here, but the wine is very pleasing!

2013 vintage

This bottle I get. Fine nose, good mouth, deceptively long length. Saturated red fruit. I’d like it more if it were just MORE of a wine. I can see this improving over the next few years, given what I’ve seen over the past few years. Try next in 2025.

2013 vintage

Fruit is a bit thin. Overall acidic and astringent. Somewhat reminiscent of some past-their-prime Burgs I don't enjoy, even though this is a syrah. I've definitely had better Ojai syrahs. Off year? Bad bottle? Who knows.

2013 vintage

I don’t get it. Uncharacteristically, this bottle was relatively thin and unremarkable, with not so much substance. Hmm.

2013 vintage

Opaque deep garnet. A: pepper iron and lightly gamey nose. F: olive and pepper, some dark toned red currant, relatively soft texture and quite open. Good showing.

2013 vintage

Very drinkable, earthy. Didn’t stand up to Richelieu Pinot that it followed.

2013 vintage

Quite dark plum color. Berry and violet aromas. Nice level of red berry, plums on the tip of the tongue. Quite deft with tannin and acid components. Clearly, this wine is the result of Adam Tolmach’s adopted IPOB philosophy. While this is not a big fruit-forward California wine, make no mistake, it is however, it is a wine for California wine lovers. It has charm, and it has substance.

2013 vintage

Popped and poured. Deep rich color, nose of black cherry, pepper and blackberry. Big, but not overpowering fruit up front with near perfect balance. Long finish. Outstanding.

2001 vintage

I have been through several of these in the past year. This bottle showed well, but not as well as the best. It has developed some bottle boquet, and is less grapey/primary, but I didn't get as much of the northern rhone characterstics of bacon fat, blood and earth as I had hoped for. As one would expect, age has made it more subtle. I will give the last bottle some more time in the interests of scence, but my …

2001 vintage

This bottle, and a bottle shared at a restaurant two nights ago were MUCH less advanced that the bretty bottle I opened in January. This was in no way as tired as that bottle, and clearly has the structure and acidity to go longer. Pepper and black fruits on the nose and palate. Smooth with good mouth feel. mediumish finish where some oak seems to show, but nothing excessive 91-92

2001 vintage

Opened and poured into a claret jug. It took a bit more than an hour for the funk to blow off, revealing a fairly mature wine with resolved tannins, rather delicate flavor profile and lingering finish.It tasted and smelled like a slightly aged Crozes Hermitage, but lacked the bacon fat and complexity I had hoped might reveal itself. It was not quite as aromatically interesting as I had hoped a nearly 10 year old sarah would display. Probably time to …

2001 vintage

Nice juice! Wish I had more. Wonder if the other vintages of BN will be as good

2001 vintage

The second corked 2001 Ojai in a week.

2001 vintage

One of the best aged Syrahs that I've had from CA. A great effort.

2001 vintage

FUNKED

2001 vintage

My last bottle of this wine, and I think that I'm just in time. The nose still retains some fruit, but is a bit funky, a funkiness that's echoed a bit in the mouth. The mouth is very, very smooth, and it's nice, but (and this is a quibble) I wish that there was a bit more structure left. The length is fine. To me, this is an example of a wine that has aged adequately, and has changed quite …

2001 vintage

Good aged syrah. The years have mellowed it a bit, but it’s still a peppery mouthful. I’ve nevber had a bad bottle of Ojai, and rarely had a bad Bien Nacido. Put the two together, and you can’t go wrong.

2001 vintage

Still has some fruit left in it, but this seems to be a wine that's reaching it's peak, as I find that the structure is beginning to show larger than the fruit. (And this bottle seems to have a tiny bit of VA.) The nose seems to be receding from what I remember, and the length seems shorter, but the mouth is still round and smooth and nice. There's not much in the way of secondary-ness here, but it's a …

2001 vintage

This bottle tastes significantly more aged than the last bottle that I remember of this wine, casuing me to wonder whether it's defective - or just aged. I can't say that I don't like it, but it's missing some of the fruity character that I would have expected. Instead, it's rather resolved and earthy and slightly medicinal or iodine-y or metallic. Those nose is okay, but the finish is abbreviated.

2001 vintage

Hell yeah - really nice syrah without the super sweet fruits and just a slight touch of oak - dark purple with an initial earthy nose, which turned to slightly spicy and fruity with some air - fruit was dark - plum or blackberry. Much later some smoke emerged. Everything was rather muted though, might be going through a slightly dumb period, which makes want more to try again in a few years.

2001 vintage

Very closed and wound up on itself. Medium bodied. Showing lots of licorice root and wild flowers, some cherry fruit and grilled meat. Needs another 2-3 years.

2001 vintage

What a disappointing wine. First day it was only 85 point at best. Stong medicinal menthol on nose and palate. A hint of cherry but little else. Vacuvined it over night and did improve with the medicinal notes subsiding and more fruit and cherry came through, Still a little astringent which makes me wonder, what happened?

2001 vintage

Cena con Kathy,Brian Andrew, Gia Jill, Chris (Meg,Nello, Audrey) (Mercer Island) : Floral and Cherries on the nose Not as deep and rich as the Radio Coteau, which surprised me a little. Fairly prominent acidity. Plums and blackberries on the palate 89-90

2001 vintage

Seems to be a bit more acidic than I remember from last time, but nonetheless a good drink. Primary, fruity (balck cherries) oak. cola, etc. Clipped finish, perhaps because of the acid. Decent nose, and a mouthfeel and midpalate that belies the acidity. Too bad on that front! I was suprised at the lack of tannins (this time) given my last note. This one's ready to go...

2001 vintage

Took to Schilling's house

2001 vintage

Ojai is one of my favorite us wineries. Not an intellectual wine, but with tastes of dark fruit, meat, spice (little pepper and a hint of mint), balanced with moderate tannins, a wine to enjoy

2001 vintage

2001 Ojai syrahs - January thru March, 2006; 1/1/2006-3/31/2006 : I love the Ojai Bien Nacido Syrah, and this wine shows why - it's an easy one to love. Good, moderate acid,a moderate amount of lush tannins, well integrated (and moderate) oak, and lots of black (cherry) fruit with a slight medicinal character. I don't find anyting "serious" or "ponderous" or "intellectual" with this wine, as I often think that I do with the Thompson, but that's fine by me. …

2001 vintage

Collectable, very limited production, cellar 10-15 years easy

2001 vintage

gregory's for dinner. wine was very good. has some spice to it. this was much better than the 2000 vintage.

2001 vintage

Big, brooding, viscous, black, spicy wine. Nice acid spine. Very large-scaled nose and palate. The finish is on the simple side, there is a lot of wood but it's nicely integrated with the tannins and acid of the wine -- mouth-puckering in a good way. A balanced fruit bomb. Yum!

2001 vintage

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The Ojai Vineyard, Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah, Santa Maria Valley

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