Ojai Sebastiano Vineyard Syrah Sta. Rita Hills 2018

96+ Points, Jeb Dunnuck
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Ojai is one of my absolute favorites and the same goes for the Nicholas Wines collective. For years, the reds and whites made here are every bit worth the price of admission. The winery is led by superstar winemaker Adam Tolmach, who has consistently proven himself to be one of most innovative winemakers in all of California. For decades, Tolmach’s scientific approach and experimentation-driven winemaking style has led to some incredible discoveries and some even better wine!

In the 2018 vintage, Adam and his assistant Fabien may have turned in their best Syrah ever off Joh Sebastiano Vineyard. It just has it all. The wine comes from an awesome site with the Syrah vines planted just outside of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA (the Pinot Noir in this site is part of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA). The wine is really bright, juicy and energetic. It reminds me a St. Joseph from France’s Rhone valley, offering up loads of red and black fruits, violets, pepper and salted meat in a medium-bodied, fresh and lively style that’s already hard to resist.

I wish I had more to offer up but I only managed to snag the last 60 bottles they had to sell. The folks who manage to snag some of these are going to absolutely love it.