We tasted these older Syrahs this week at Pig+Fig:
1. OjaiVnyd Syrah ThompsonVnyd/SBCnty (14.5%) 2005: Med.color w/ some bricking; rather smokey/toasty/Ojai Fr.oak lightly Thompson/peppery strong blackberry/Syrah quite complex mature Ojai Syrah nose; lightly tart strong peppery/blackberry/Syrah some toasty/oak slightly drying complex flavor w/ light smooth bit drying tannins; very long/lingering strong toasty/oak finish that mirrors flavor; starting to dry out slightly on the palate but still very much alive & shows lots of Thompson/peppery character.
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2. OjaiVnyd Syrah BienNacidoVnyd/SantaMariaVlly (14.5%) 2005: Med.color w/ slight bricking; slightly less toasty/smokey oak stronger Syrah/blackberry/spicy classic BM/black cherry rather complex old Ojai nose; fairly tart bit c-c/peppery strong blackberry/Syrah/BN black cherry cola some toasty/smokey/oak complex lovely flavor w/ lighter smooth/gentle tannins; very long/lingering smooth/gentle finish that mimics flavor; a lovely smooth/gentle Ojai syrah that speaks of BM/black cherry cola; shows no signs of drying out but has lost a bit of fruit on the palate; a lovely fully mature Ojai Syrah.
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3. TerreRouge Syrah JayWildrotterVnyd/ShenandoahVlly (14.5%) Dom.de la Terre Rouge/Plymouth 2009: Very dark slight bricking color; strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah rather Amador/briary classic Amador red some complex nose that resembles Zin slightly; bit soft slight drying out classic Amador/briary strong blackberry/Syrah little oak some complex flavor w/ modest gentle tannins; very long/lingering finish that mirrors flavor; shows a bit of drying out on the palate but a classic mature Amador Syrah w/ some briary character that resembles Zin; lovely fully mature Amador Syrah.
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4. TerreRouge S yrah SentinelOakVnyd/PyramidBlock (14.5%) 2006: Dark color w/ slight bricking; very strong blackberry/Amador briary/Syrah strong blackberry/spicy/boysenberry/ripe slight pencilly fairly complex mature Syrah nose; lightly tart strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrahspicy slight Amador/briary bit pencilly fairly complex flavor w/ light smooth tannins; very long finish that reflects the flavor; showing no signs of drying out on the palate; a lovely fully mature Amador Syrah.
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More rotterspeck from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Both of these Ojais were in terrific shape and display everything you want in an older Ojai Syrah. They should go on another 5 yrs but unlikely to get any better.
Both of the TerreRouge Syrahs were fully mature & in wonderful shape. They Wildrotter Syrah may have been a one-of. Don't recall any other of those from Bill.
Tom