1.5cm - 3.0cm

The Ojai Vineyard

In the bountiful 1997 vintage there was one special vineyard, Thompson, that went its own way and produced a very modest crop. And just as the fruit was almost ripe to perfection, we had an incredible heat spell that caused the grapes to dehydrate. We got in there asap and picked, but the grapes were super ripe. Tempestuous and difficult to ferment, I had no idea where this wine was headed. I nervously watched it bubble along for a full year. Bear in mind, the typical yeast fermentation takes only two to three weeks to complete. Miraculously, it finished successfully.

As it turned out, the new wine was the stand out of the vintage, black in color, thick with flavor. A hedonistic fruit bomb, if you will. This wine wasn’t something I would call my style, but it was amazing, so I couldn’t see the point of blending it into oblivion. Because of its singularity, we chose it to mark the birth of our second son, Henry Daniel Tolmach, in 1997. This wine’s outgoing, in your face personality matches Henry’s to a tee.

To preserve its essence, the wine was not fined or filtered, and so quite a bit of natural sediment has accumulated during aging. So, to fully appreciate this Wine, decanting is essential.

Adam Tolmach, The Ojai Winemaker

Thompson Vineyard 75% / Bien Nacido 25%
Santa Barbara County
 
This huge, pretty, easy to enjoy wine is so gregarious, it is out to please everyone, just like Henry! At one moment it smells like milk chocolate, the next like bacon and the next like bay laurel. When Henry took his first sip of wine, this was the one. After he tasted it he made a thoughtful frown and said "spicy." And spicy it is, with a fabulous velvety thick texture and lots of ripe super fine tannins. Because of its long fermentation, this wine remained on the lees for 12 months. This gave it an extra textural richness that give the tannins a beguiling suppleness. Because of its over the top nature, I am tempted to say you should enjoy this wine right now, and you certainly can. But after tasting an uncorked bottle that was left out for several days, I think it will age gracefully for many years.

95 Wine Advocate

The 1997 Syrah Cuvee Henry Daniel (named after one of Adam Tolmach's children) is a prodigious Syrah. Seventy-five percent emerged from the Bedford Thompson Vineyard and the rest from the Bien Nacido. Opaque purple-colored, with a huge, smoky, blackberry liqueur-scented nose, this fabulously concentrated wine exhibits abundant sweet tannin, an unctuous texture, well-integrated new oak (about 50% new wood was utilized) and a layered, deep, compelling finish. A compelling Syrah, it should evolve beautifully for 10-15+ years. This wine is only available in 6-packs as production was limited to just over 300 cases. 02/2000