The Ojai Vineyard Syrah, Santa Barbara County, USA

奧海酒莊西拉干紅葡萄酒

點擊次數(shù)：4716

The 2005 Syrah (which includes small amounts of Mourvedre and Grenache) reveals delicious cassis and cherry fruit interwoven with licorice, camphor, and pepper. Made in a juicy, up-front style, it is meant to be drunk during its first 4-5 years of life. A recent vertical tasting of all the Thompson Syrahs offered some wonderful surprises. The sensational 2003 (rated 93) was a powerful, opulent, nearly over the top Syrah (the type of wine Tolmach supposedly despises). It’s a great wine in the making. The 2002 (rated 89?) seemed somewhat monolithic and closed, but the 2001 (rated 95) was fabulous, with great intensity, and notes of charcoal, tapenade, blackberries, and creosote. The 2000 Thompson Special Bottling (rated 94+) behaved like a spicy, leather and black fruit-dominated Pauillac, with huge structure, fabulous concentration, and a long finish. The 1999 (rated 93) offered a beautiful nose of flowers, black fruits, espresso beans, and licorice. Rich, broad, savory, and long, it was stunning. The 1998 (rated 91) came across like a top-notch French Hermitage. Herbal with black olive notes intermixed with black cherries and cassis, it could easily be mistaken for a top vintage of Jaboulet’s Crozes-Hermitage Domaine Thalabert. The 1997 Syrah Henry David (named after Adam’s son) was rated 94. At ten years of age, it is a fabulous wine exhibiting notes of licorice, creosote, plum sauce, blackberries, and smoke. This meaty, chewy, full-bodied, fleshy Syrah coats the palate, stains the teeth, and is still a youngster in terms of development. It should drink well for another 10-15 years or more. Tel. (805) 649-1674

This may be a Syrah that gains balance with some bottle age, but right now, it’s a little obvious and overwhelming in extracted blackberry and cassis fruit. But it’s rich in tannins, and will appeal to those who like a big, New World style red wine.——S.H.(5/1/2008)—— 87