by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.

2002 Hospice Du Rhone Trip. Since I missed last yr's visit to Adam Tolmach at Ojai Vineyard and the RollRanch vertical he put together, I wasn't going to make that same blunder again. So we (Larry Archibald, Laura Chancellor,  and Susan Pfeifer) showed up at 10:00 am for this yr's visit. His assistant, Michael Meagher (sp?),  who poured at the Library Tasting Friday at HdR, was at home w/ the crud. Throughout our tasting out  on the crush pad, a gentle sprinkle of ashes fell on us from the SantaClarita fire on the East side of Ojai, that still burns unabated, well over 10,000 acres by now. Like most vintners, Adam is very excited by the 2001 vintage. So we immediately went into the barrels:

1. Ojai Chard Bien Nacido Vineyard w/ ML 2001: lovely light oaked appley/melony Chard nose; tart very spicy  light butterscotchy quite zippy/lean flavor.
2. Ojai Chard Clos Pepe Vineyard w/o ML 2001: bright fragrant/floral tropical fruit nose; tart/spicy bright floral/pineapply flavor.
3. Ojai Chard Talley Vineyard 2001: softer/rounder floral/tropical fruit light floral flavor.
4. Ojai Vin Soleil Blanc Bien Nacido Vineyard (75% Roussanne/Viognier): lovely ripe/rotted apple lush/butter- scotchy nose; soft/rich/ripe/lush floral/Roussanne butterscotchy flavor. Ojai Pinot Noir Melville Vineyard Clone 777 2001: Dark color; toasty/pungent/licorice black fruits nose; tart pungent black cherry smokey flavor.
5. Ojai Pinot Noir Melville Vineyard Clone 115 2001: lighter, more fragrant more bright cherry flavor.
6. Ojai Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard Pommard Clone 2001: tart/tannic rich more plummy ome black cherry light oak flavor.
7. Ojai Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard 2001: big/ripe lush plummy/black cherry Pinot flavor.
8. Ojai Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir 2001: bit herbal cherry/spicy nose; tart light herbal/earthy big cherry very spicy flavor.
9. Ojai Beckmen Vineyard Grenache 2001: strong strawberry/black cherry/blackberry nose; big/round/lush/rich black cherry/strawberry juicy flavor; probably into the VinSoleilRouge.
10. Ojai Beckmen Vineyard Mourvedre (1 ton/acre; Tablas clone) 2001: very strong plummy/black cherry/smokey nose; rich bit tannic very plummy/black cherry flavor; very exotic wine. For VinSoleilRouge.
11. Ojai Beckmen Vineyard Syrah (Clone 877) 2001: bit stinky/reduced strong black cherry/Syrah nose; fairly big ripe/black cherry tannic flavor.
12. Ojai Roll Ranch Vineyard Syrah (Durell clone) 2001: spicy blackberry/black cherry/Syrah weaker nose; soft/big blackberry spicy/peppery flavor.
13. Ojai Roll Ranch Vineyard Syrah (Estrella clone) 2001: much bigger more intense blackberry/Syrah more pungent/ licorice character; much prefer this to the Durell
14. Ojai Vogelsang Vineyard Syrah (1.8 tons/acre) 2001: tart black cherry cola/blackberry/black cherry quite spicy nose; fairly rich interesting black cherry cola/spicy flavor.
15. Ojai Stolpman Vineyard Syrah (young vines; Estrella clone; 1.3 tons/acre) 2001: spicy/blackberry rather toasty/smokey/oak flavor
16. Ojai Stolpman Vineyard Syrah (older vines; Durell clone) 2001: more spicy/peppery strong blackberry/Syrah bit bigger & more tannic character.
17. Ojai Thompson Vineyard Syrah 2001: Black color; intense tannic/boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah more balanced/ round/lush loads of intense blackberry fruit; big/huge Syrah that certain Monktown attorneys are gonna love...alas. Maybe not alas.... more of the others for the rest of us.
18. Ojai White Hawk Vineyard Syrah 2001: From a new vnyd up on CatCanyonRd; very spicy/perfumed bit smokey/ salami blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah flavor; very interesting wine.
19. Ojai Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah 2001: fragrant floral/cherry/black cherry/plummy rich/round character.
20. Ojai Melville Vineyard Syrah (Estrella clone) 2001: tart very cracked black pepper/floral/cherry some  lean flavor; the cold climate of the vnyd really shows thru here.
21. Ojai Melville Vineyard Syrah (Tablas clone; hrvstd at 22Brix) 2001: also very cracked black pepper/spicy/ cherry pretty tart/lean/hard flavor.
22. Ojai Thompson Vineyard Syrah (still fermenting, hrvstd at 28Brix) 2000: Only 2000 wine still in barrel; very ripe/late-harvesty black cherry/boysenberry/blackberry almost Zin-like very perfumed/aromatic nose w/ a bit of volatile lift; soft/very rich/ripe blackberry/boysenberry some toasty/pungent/oak flavor; big/bombastic almost Oz-style Syrah that Monktown attourneys are gonna go ape over.. guaranteed.

1. Ojai Clos Pepe Vineyard Pinot Noir 2000: Very dark color; very fragrant/floral/cherry perfumey/lovely Pinot nose; tart floral/cherry loads of bright Pinot fruit rich/tannic flavor; a terrific cold-climate Pinot.
2. Ojai Roll Ranch Vineyard Syrah 2000: Very dark color; deep blackberry/boysenberry/black cherry very lush nose;  soft/ripe very plummy/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah some spicy/cloves flavor; another terrific RollRanch.
3. Ojai Stolpman Vineyard Syrah 2000: Black color; big/rich/plummy/blackberry/cassis/boysenberry very fragrant nose; tart very spicy blackberry/black cherry light toasty/oak flavor; bit more elegant & refined than the other 2000's but stil a big Syrah.
4. Ojai Bien Nacido Syrah 2000: Very dark color; strong plummy/blackberry/black cherry/boysenberry loads of Syrah fruit nose; tart blackberry/plummy/black cherry quite tannic flavor; big/huge Syrah that needs age.
5. Ojai Melville Vineyard Syrah (only 168 cs) 2000: Very black color; very intense black pepper/blackberry/Syrah  bit toasty/pungent/oak nose; tart/tannic very black pepper/blackberry/boysenberry perfumey/spicy flavor; very much cold-climate Syrah; killer stuff & my favorite of the 2000's. Hopefully, certain Monktown attourneys will remain clueless.

1. Ojai Calif Syrah (Bien Nacido/ZacaMesa/Thompson/Estate vnyds) 1994: Dark color; lovely/complex perfumed smokey/spicy blackberry nose that becomes very pungent/toasty/smokey; tart/juicy blackberry/Syrah complex some toasty/pungent flavor; developing some bottle complexity but still in terrific shape and still some yrs ahead of it.
2. Ojai Calif Syrah (RollRanch/Bien Nacido/ZacaMesa/Estate) 1995: Dark color; very strong blackberry/ boysenberry licorice/pungent/smokey intense Syrah nose; soft/big/lush juicy/boysenberry/framboise slight pungent/smokey flavor w/ light tannin; loaded w/ Syrah fruit & still young.
3. Ojai Calif Syrah (RollRanch/Bien Nacido/Stolpman vnyds) 1996: Very dark color; big green olive/blackberry some toasty/oak/pungent complex nose; rich blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah slight green olive light toasty flavor; a very interesting and still young Syrah.
4. Ojai Calif Syrah 1997: Very dark colr; more blackberry/boysenberry/juicy/Syrah light toasty/oak nose; soft/round/lush very ripe loads of boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah light toasty flavor; not quite the tannins/structure of the others, probably acause the large '97 crop loads.
5. Ojai Calif Syrah 1998: More toasty/pungent/oaked very peppery/black pepper/blackberry/Syrah/black cherry nose; big/rich lush blackberry/Syrah/black cherry light toasty flavor w/ good tannins; still needs more age; terrific Syrah.
6. Ojai Calif Syrah 1999: Arghhhhh....badly corked. The producer would have replaced it...if he had any there at the winery.
7. Ojai Santa Barbara County Syrah 2000: Very dark color; fairly strong blackberry/Syrah/black cherry/cola bit dusty/earthy rather closed nose; tart/closed/tannic/hard some blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah light toasty flavor; seems really tight & closed right now but very structured for long aging; I expect this  to be a killer Syrah in a yr or two, and hold much longer than that.

All in all, a nice morning's work. Another great visit with Adam Tolmach... they always are.

1. Though known mostly for his Syrahs and Pinots, Adam also makes some very lovely whites as well. His SauvignonBlanc is always one of my favorites, made in what he calls a Sancerre style. He no longer makes the Cuvee Belle Helene which had Semillon blended therein.
2. Many of the vintners who buy from Bien Nacido vnyd have often complained in the past that their farming tended to overcrop the yields. Adam know buys on an acerage basis, as do many others, plus a new farmer taking care of the vnyds, seems to have finessed this problem.
3. Adam is pretty excited by the Pinot he's getting from both the Melville and the Clos Pepe vnyds. Both are very cool-climate vnyds in the SantaRitaHills in the west end of the SantaYnez Valley. This year is the last year that he will be taking Pinot from the Pisoni vnyd. He was finding it a lot of hassle to go that distance to check on the grapes and has consistently had problems on one sort or another on that wine, like stuck fermentations and such. Plus the grapes are not cheap. So, except for RollRanch. all his wines will henceforth be Santa Barbara County.
4. Durell vs. Estrella clones: My impression of these two clones is that the Estrella gives a Syrah w/ more strawberry/high-toned fragrance and the Durell gives a wine w/ more spicy/peppery and more big/deep/pungent character. I've generally preferred the Durell clone, mostly based on what Steve Edmunds does. Tasting at Ojai, Jaffurs, and Stolpman; the Estrella clone seems to give the bigger and more interesting Syrah and the Durell the more lighter/simpler wine. Now I AM confused.
5. It should be noted on the 2001 barrel sampling that these are definitely works in progress and far from finished wines. I was mightly impressed by them across the board as big/extracted/powerful wines. Unless Adam went out the day before and selected which barrels he would show us (highly unlikely that TomHill would be worth THAT trouble), the wines seemed to be some of Adam's best yet. But they are just one barrel of many, in each case, and represent that wine as just a snapshot in time. So don't make your specific buying decision based on these notes when they're released. In fact, you should just do like I do.....buy them all; been doing it from the very start and no reason to change now!!
6. Adam was sort of blindsided by the huge RP score for his Thompson Syrah 1999 and unprepared for the typical insane scramble for this wine; even afore its release. He has not done allocations before to his mailing list and was unprepared for the demand. Hench, some of the very early orders got a full case, but most were cut back to only 6 or 3 or, in some cases, 0 btls for his mailing list. This is NOT a part of the romance of winemaking/running a winery that Adam particularly enjoys. And the wines are much the better for it, I would say. FYI, I only got 3 btls out of the 1.5 cs our group received; I had requests for over 3 cases worth. Would have liked more, but I'll live with it.
7. 2000 vintage: The vintage was a difficult one up on the NorthCoast and has been pretty badly panned by the critics. Down in Santa Barbara, there was also some problems in getting the grapes fully ripe as well. However, Adam's 2000's certainly do NOT reflect any problems to me with this vintage; they all seem classic big Ojai wines, but not overdone, w/ maybe a bit more acidity to them...a good sign for their aging.
8. The '94 and '95 vintage were the last of Adam's Estate Syrah. The vnyd was badly afflicted by Pierce's disease and was then abandoned. The grapes always went into his Calif Syrah and were, to my knowledge, never bottled as an Estate Syrah.
9. Ojai Calif Syrah: These wines have always been to me one of the best valued Syrahs in Calif. Still are. Those of you/us that were buying those in the middle-'90's for $14-$16/btl have in our hands a wine that is easily worth 2-3 times that price. His '00 Santa Barbara Syrah is probably the least typical of the recent ones. It seems pretty hard and closed right now and probably should have been held for the Fall release. But the wine is packed with flavor and plenty of structure and will probably age better than any of his Calif Syrahs. A killer wine.... down the road. That's the good news. The good news is that it's still fairly available. Not to be missed if it show's up on your retailer's shelf. Priced in the low-mid $20's, it's dishonest to buy a wine this good at that price.
10. I've followed Adam's wines from the very start. It's been an exciting journey, for all of us. I started sending my notes to Adam with his first Syrah, the '82, and have done so ever since. It was almost 6-7 year's worth of this (many would have given up much earlier) persistence afore he even responded to me with a short postcard. And yet another few yrs before I actually met Adam in person. If anybody could be labeled as such, Adam Tolmach could probably be termed California's Jacques Reynaud.... though I seriously doubt Adam has ever hidden in a ditch in order to avoid any visitors!! It's hard to imagine Adam being given the Marvin Shanken bear-hug up on the dias at the NewYork Wine Extravaganza!! His Syrahs from the early '80's, showed a lot of toasty French oak, almost Burgundian-style of Syrah. As his vnyd sources matured, his wines started showing a lot more extract and loads of Syrah fruit, with still a lot of toasty/French oak. My sense is that Adam is backing off a bit on the amount of new oak his wines receive; giving them more oak if he feels they have the stuffing to take it. Clearly, he is one of the greatest Syrah makers in Calif/the world. And, despite Adam's best efforts on the marketing scene to remain obscure (Bob Lindquist labels Adam as an anti-marketing marketing guy); alas, he's no longer our little secret. 

TomHill