1.5cm; one faded label

So close to White Hawk Vineyard, and yet Thompson Vineyard is a completely different expression of syrah. It is big, chunky, and fruity. Compared to the White Hawk, its spiciness lurks more in the background and has a very different character. Instead of being oceanic, it is rather like some exotic spice-cardamom perhaps. And besides the fruit, there is always an animal character to this wine that is quite provocative. Like all the Thompson syrahs we have made, this wine is for someone willing to wait. You could drink them young if you wanted, but you’d be committing infanticide. The 1997 (Henry Daniel) and the 1998 are just beginning to open up–but that is about it; the younger vintages need more time. This particular wine is less tannic than the 2000 or the 1999, and has great balance. It’s not over-the-top, but that being said, it still needs quite a few years before it will be at its best.

Adam Tolmach, The Ojai Winemaker

This one is not a food wine; it is the whole meal! Our section of Thompson Vineyard is at the top of the hill, and that, combined with the extra leaf-pulling and crop-thinning that we did, turned out to be important in cool 1999. That last little warm spell we had in late October was just enough to take these grapes to super ripeness. With a larger crop, the grapes would never have ripened sufficiently. This wine is the gem of the vintage, and showing off well 1999's attributes.

In any vintage, if you have a warm enough location, you can make a monster wine. But it takes a special vintage and a special spot to achieve the balance necessary for great wine. Whether this wine is great can certainly be debated, but we are very happy with it, and all the conditions were right at Thompson in 1999. This wine displays the vineyard-specific aromas of coffee, chocolate and smoke and is very rich in the mouth. That richness is balanced by lots of tannin and reasonable acidity, which will allow this syrah to age gracefully for many years.

96 Wine Advocate

The blockbuster 1999 Syrah Thompson Vineyard boasts an opaque black/purple color as well as a bouquet that is the essence of smoky Syrah. Fried bacon intermixed with cassis, barbecue spice, and blackberry aromas are followed by an unctuously-textured, full-bodied, deep, sensationally pure, prodigious Syrah to drink now and over the next 12-15 years. (RP) 02/2002