The 2020 Ojai Mountain Red Blend is based on an interesting mix of Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvèdre, and Cabernet Franc. This deeper ruby/purple-hued effort offers ample Bing cherry, candied strawberry, ground pepper, leather, and graphite-like nuances to go with a medium to full-bodied style on the palate. It has terrific purity, a polished, elegant mouthfeel, and outstanding length. It's clearly impeccably made.”

The 2020 Red Blend (30% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Mourvèdre, 8% Cabernet Franc) is a dark, brooding, intense wine that requires coaxing to reveal a well-defined array of dark cherry fruit, seaside herbs and brown spices. Broad in stature but balanced and calibrated, the 2020 is a superb effort, considering the nascent vine age. It's only up from here.”

The 2024 Estate White is round yet lifted on the nose, offering up aromas of white flower and peach pit, with a touch of iodine and herbal, alpine notes after some time in the glass. On the palate, it combines a dense texture with elastic tension and invigorating acidity, culminating in a fresh, saline-driven finish propelled by beaming citrus tones. It's a blend of 46% Grenache Blanc, 43% Picpoul and 11% Roussanne that matured for six months in neutral barrique.”

Fruity aromas of apple and mango prove juicy on the nose of this wine from a vineyard located high above Ojai and the rest of Ventura County. There’s a sizzle of acidity to the palate, where delicate pear flesh and lychee flavors join a light paraffin note. This has the bones to age a while. Drink now–2034. Cellar Selection.”

The 2023 Mourvèdre is a distinctively peppery, earthy wine that feels like it lives somewhere between the Rhône and Beaujolais—crunchy and carbonic in its juicy red fruit profile but loaded with meaty, gamey inflections, a deep well of minerality and an attractive red-licorice undertone. There’s an enticing suppleness here as the 2023 delivers all its complexity with nuance and focus. Another wine from Ojai Mountain with an undeniable stamp of terroir.”

Blended with 12% Grenache Blanc, 6% Picpoul and 5% Roussanne, the 2023 Mourvèdre is among the most solid expressions from the Ojai Mountain project thus far. It showcases the variety's characteristic loamy, earthy bouquet, complemented by a subtly gourmand core of black licorice. The palate is plush and concentrated before springing into a savory, mineral-driven finish padded with soft, lush dark fruit flavors.”

There's a lovely combination of berry sorbet, lilac and peppercorn on the nose of this bottling from a mountaintop vineyard high above Ojai. The palate is zesty with boysenberry candy and strawberry flavors that are cut by a crushed stone earthiness.”

This predominantly Grenache and Mourvèdre blend, with a touch of Tempranillo and Syrah, is a fresh and approachable daily drinker. The nose offers dark fruits and warm baking spices, while the palate is easy-drinking and balanced with well-integrated tannins—a versatile choice for any occasion. ”

The 2022 Estate Red combines a woody, herbal bouquet with a core of red and black fruits, introducing a straightforward palate and a luscious finish that gradually gains verve and energy in the glass, lingering with powdery tannins. This is a straightforward showing from a still-nascent project that will be interesting to follow as it matures. It's a blend of 45% Grenache, 44% Mourvèdre, 6% Tempranillo and 5% Syrah that matured in neutral French oak barrels for 18 months.”

Hailing from a high-elevation, super-exposed mountaintop overlooking all of Ventura County, this bottling is snappy on the nose with black raspberry and lilac aromas that are layered in fennel pollen, thyme and lightly toasted oak. Blueberry and purple fruits pop on the palate, where sticky tannins indicate reliable cellar life”

Made from 100% Syrah, destemmed and aged 20 months in neutral French oak, the 2022 Syrah Ojai Mountain is inky purple-hued and has a powerful nose of jammy blueberries, plums, intermixed with pepper, smoked meat, and violets. It has beautiful purity, medium to full body, ripe, building tannins, and outstanding length. This brings serious ripeness in its aromatics but stays balanced and lively on the palate. Drink bottles over the coming 7-8 years. Drink 2025-2033.”

This Syrah is powerful, muscular, and deeply expressive from a micro-producer in Ojai with estate vineyards at 850m in elevation. Inky purple in the glass offers a core of dark fruits—purple, blue, and black—layered with cracked pepper and allspice. The palate is bold, featuring notes of dark fruit, coffee beans, and leather. Aged in 100% neutral oak, this wine will benefit from a year or more of cellaring.”

I found the 2022 Syrah one of the more promising Ojai Mountain releases, with notably more depth and dimension than the Estate Red bottling. It opens with a dark, brooding nose that combines camphor, white pepper and dried herb aromas, leading to a plush and concentrated palate with tensile energy and a powdery finish supported by lush dark fruits.”

From a very exciting mountaintop estate overlooking almost all of Ventura County, this white blend offers lively aromas of Asian pear, cherimoya and melon rind on the layered nose. The palate's firmer texture hints to its rough soils, as flavors of citrus, Asian фpear and hints of banana flower converge.”

From Ventura County near Los Angeles, Ojai Mountain is only 16km from the Pacific at over 850m. This white blend is 60% Grenache Blanc, 34% Picpoul, and a splash of Roussanne. This wine soars on brilliant acids and is far from flabby. Aromas of poached pear and honeysuckle are balanced by bright yet concentrated candied orange peel. The palate delivers a consistency of stone fruits, clover honey, and a touch of grilled pineapple with a brilliant acidity that carries a citrus-hewn finish.”

The 2022 Estate White is waxy, floral and round on the nose, developing a subtle citrus-tinged lift with aeration. The palate is broad and polished, transitioning to a subtly lifted finish that lingers with an oily undercurrent. A blend of 60% Grenache Blanc, 34% Picpoul and 6% Roussanne, it aged for eight months in neutral barrels without malolactic fermentation.”

Starting with the 2022 Ojai Mountain White Blend, it's based on 60% Grenache Blanc, 34% Picpoul, and the rest Roussanne. Meyer lemon, orange, and some herbal, exotic, and honeyed notes all define the aromatics, and it's medium-bodied, with a reasonably well-balanced mouthfeel and a good finish. The aromatics here are a little so-so, but this is solid on the palate.”

The 2021 Red Blend, essentially the same representative blend as the 2020 tasted alongside, is a big step up in quality—no surprise, given that the vineyard was only planted in 2018. The 2021 is loaded with savory mineral character that speaks to the potential of this high-elevation site. A rush of blue fruit, white peppercorn, grilled rosemary and stone dust opens with gusto, but the 2021 retains a very cool-toned lightness through and through. Intense, deeply concentrated flavors come across with precision and no excess weight. There's so much character here.”

Ripe, juicy red fruit aromatics from this ‘kitchen sink’ blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvedre and Cabernet Franc from the Ojai Mountain estate. The palate shows lush flavours of cherry, black fig, and red plums, which show ripe fleshiness. There's ample structure, and a mineral tone carries the finish of smoky sea salt, a nod to the estate's proximity to the Pacific Ocean.”

Based on 30% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Mourvèdre, and 7% Cabernet Franc, the 2021 Ojai Mountain Red was destemmed and aged 20 months in neutral French oak. Darker ruby/plum-hued, it offers red and black currants, mulberries, mountain scrub brush, and pretty floral nuances. Medium-bodied, with some spicy wood, grippy tannins, good mid-palate depth, and solid length on the finish, it's best enjoyed over the coming 6-8 years. Drink 2025-2033.”

This exciting new estate is still dialing in the right blend for its white wine, but this is a good start, offering grapefruit, apple flesh and vibrant acidity on the nose. The palate is more broad with melon, apple and pear flavors, as tangerine rind adds a slight bite.”

This exciting new estate is still dialing in the right blend for its white wine, but this is a good start, offering grapefruit, apple flesh and vibrant acidity on the nose. The palate is more broad with melon, apple and pear flavors, as tangerine rind adds a slight bite.”

All Syrah, the 2021 Syrah Ojai Mountain Syrah offers a darker core of blackberry-like fruits intermixed with ample ground pepper, leather, smoked meat, and scorched earth aromas and flavors. It too is concentrated, has medium to full-bodied richness, beautiful tannins, and a great finish. This is one classy Syrah that will evolve gracefully for 10-15 years.”

Rounded blackberry and purple flower aromas meet with asphalt and lava rock minerality on the nose of this bottling from high atop a mountain that overlooks most of Ventura County. The palate is dense and lavish, coated in cassis and cracked pepper, proving powerfully ripe. ”

Redolent fruits and dark purple florals leap from the glass in this fruit-centered bottling of Central Coast Syrah. Black and red plum fruits, rich violets, lavender and notes of Christmas spice, this Syrah is raised in 100% neutral oak barrels. Tart early-season blackberries and piquant flavours of roughly chopped mint leaves, warm brown spices, sweet black cherries and a finish of concentrated blue mountain berries that carry on well into the finish.”