We tried these older Ojai Syrahs from mine & Stacey's stash:
1. Ojai Syrah Calif (14.0%) 2001 : Dark color w/ light bricking; lovely classic mature Ojai Syrah strong toasty/Ojai oak light peppery bit tired complex nose; lightly tart some spicy/blackberry/Syrah some toasty/Ojai oak bit tired/dried out some complex flavor w/ modest drying tannins; still pretty youthful & in good shape but drying out a bit on the palate; the only one to show any signs of sur-maturity but still a pleasure to drink.
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2. Ojai Syrah SBC (14.5%) 2005: Very dark color w/ little bricking; strong very blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah very peppery bit Rhonish complex nose; quite tart fairly lush/rich very spicy/peppery youthful blackberry/boysenberry/Syrahsome toasty/Ojai oak fairly complex rather youthful flavor w/ modest brisk tannins; no signs of drying out but not going to get better & probably at peak maturity.
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3. Ojai Syrah MelvilleVnyd/SantaRitaHills (14.0%) 2000 : Very dark color w/ no bricking; very spicy very c-c/peppery very blackberry/Syrah fairly Rhonish beautiful complex nose; very tart/tangy quite c-c/black pepper strong blackberry Syrah rather Rhonish light pencilly/Ojai oak flavor w/ modest grippy tannins; lots of c-c/peppery character some Rhonish complex character; probably has another 3-6 yrs of life left in it.
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4. Ojai Syrah BienNacidoVnyd/SBC (14.0%) 2000: Very dark color w/ no bricking; strong toasty/oak strong black cherry/boysenberry/Syrah/ripe classic BN Syrah lovely complex nose; lightly tart slight dried-out some blackberry/black cherry light toasty/Ojai oak some complex flavor w/ light grippy tannins; a fairly classic BN Syrah rather complex but starting to show a bit of its aage.
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5. Ojai Syrah Henry-Daniel SBC (75% ThompsonVnyd/25% BienNacidoVnyd; 15.0%; 8 brls) 1997: Very dark color w/ no bricking; strong toasty/oak ripe/peppery more complex lovely mature nose; fairly tart structured strong peppery/blackberry/Syrah strong tannic/structured flavor; still rather youthful& needs more age; speaks more of Thompson meaty Syrah than plummy BN; still a fairly youthful Syrah & needs another 3-6 yrs of age.
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6. Ojai Syrah RollRanchVnyd/VenturaCnty (SpecBttlg Lot E.H) 1998: Med.dark color w/ slight browning; strong pencilly/toasty/Ojai oak ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah bit smokey/Rhonish ripe fairly complex nose w/ bit of tiring character; lightly tart some dried out old Rhonish some blackberry/boysenberry Syrah complex flavor w/ light grippy tannins; nicely mature Ojai Syrah nose but a bit drying out on the palate; still a pleasure to drink but on the downhill side.
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7. Ojai Syrah RollRanchVnyd/VenturaCnty (14.5%) 2000: Dark color w/ some bricking; less toasty/oakrather strong/smokey/bit Rhonish strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/peppery classic Ojai/oak rather complex nose; fairly smooth fully mature blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah mature Ojai Syrah balanced flavor w/ modest gentle tannins; a classic fully-mature Ojai RR Syrah bit still very healthy Syrah; fully mature Ojai Syrah & not going to improve any.
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8. Ojai Syrah StolpmanVnyd/SBC (14.0%) 2000: Very dark color w/ slight bricking; very strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry strong toasty/Fr.oak fairly pure bit simple Syrah lovely nose; fairly tart/tangy strong Fr.oak/smokey some blackberry/blueberry/Syrah lovely pure Syrah flavor w/ light gentle tannins; quite lovely pure Syrah wine; one of the best Stolpmans I've had; fully mature & great drinking.
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More outlebird from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. I have, of course, followed Adam Tolmach's Syrahs from the very start; his '83 Estate Syrah planted on their own roots. His Estate vnyd is in a gentle swale right near a heavly-forested creek coming down ut of Ojai. Ideal territory for the glassy-winged sharpshooter. Eventually the entire vnyd was taken out by Pierce's Disease.
This set of Syrahs was pretty impressive. Adam's Syrahs have a great track record for aging. I was expecting some of these to be a bit tired. But they were all pretty healthy and none of them on their last legs. Clearly one of the masters of Syrah in Calif.
Tom