The 2009 Pinot Noir shows lovely mid-palate juiciness in its sweet red cherries, licorice and crushed flowers. This is a pretty, if somewhat fleeting, frail Pinot that is best enjoyed while the fruit is vibrant. The Pinot Noir is mostly young vines from Bien Nacido, with some fruit from Solomon Hills, Presidio and Fe Ciega, basically the barrels that don’t make it into the vineyard-designate bottlings. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2014.
I admit I have mixed feelings about the wines I tasted at Ojai with proprietor Adam Tolmach and winemaker Fabien Castel. On the positive side, the wines are classy, elegant and also very fairly priced considering the quality of what is in the bottle. At the same time, it is obvious yields aren’t particularly low, which is somewhat mystifying considering Tolmach works with first-rate sites and is clearly getting pristine fruit. Don’t get me wrong, these are excellent wines?but they could be truly great, and maybe beyond great. The cellars are kept cold year-round, while the approach to winemaking remains quite minimalist. All of the whites are fermented in barrel, with full malolactic fermentation and very low levels of new oak. The Pinots are aged on their lees and are racked only before bottling. The Pinots see 25-35% new oak, while the Syrahs see even less. In recent years Tolmach has begun experimenting with whole clusters for both his Pinots and Syrahs.
Tel. (805) 649-1674; www.ojaivineyard.com
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