2011 Syrah John Sebastiano

Making so many different wines from different varieties and vineyards "keeps the mind active," according to Adam Tolmach, and it also "keeps you curious—it's impossible to fall into a rut.” Assistant winemaker Fabien Castel noted that Ojai has been steadily moving to fewer punchdowns during fermentation "to preserve elegance and avoid overextraction" and that the oak regimen continues to rely heavily on neutral and "really neutral" barrels. Tolmach said, again, that while he continues to be pleased "more often than not" by how the richer, more powerful wines that he made in the past have aged, "that's not the style that makes me happy."

This is a fabulous set of wines from Ojai. Winemaker/Proprietor Adam Tolmach and Assistant Winemaker Fabien Castel hit the ball out of the park with a number of these new releases. Frankly, I am not sure where to start, as there are so many wines here that are worthy of serious consideration. Looking at the 2011 whites, they are the product of a very difficult season marked by a spring frost and windy/rainy conditions during the flowering that lowered yields dramatically. Production may be down, but the two 2011 whites I tasted were dazzling. Ojai's 2010 Pinots are simply breathtaking. Here, too, the wines are a little bit richer and more powerful than is often the case. Suffice it to say I can't wait to taste the rest of 2010 Syrahs. As always, the Pinots are made in a stripped down manner that includes slow malos, low amounts of new oak and minimal racking, which is typically performed only to prepare the wines for bottling. A heat spike just as the Chardonnay was being picked caused challenges. The fruit that was picked before the heat went into the single-vineyard wines, but the lots that were not brought in on time ended up in the straight Santa Barbara Chardonnay. As a consumer, sometimes it feels there are no great values left in California. Ojai is a rare exception. These wines deliver the goods (and then some) yet remain exceptionally fairly priced. Readers who want to learn more about Ojai might enjoy this recent video covering the 2010 Bien Nacido and Solomon Hills Pinots.