2025 Spring
Bold and complex, the 2022 Ojai Mountain Syrah layers dark berries, florals, and savory spice with vibrant acidity and refined tannins, promising a long, elegant evolution.
100% Syrah (Estrella Clone)
Alcohol: 14.7% | pH: 3.55 | TA: 6.3 | Malic Acid: <0.05
WINEMAKER'S NOTE
Deep blackberry, cassis, and dark plum mingle with violet, lavender, and hints of cracked pepper, smoked meat, and earth. This wine is lush and powerful, balanced by vibrant acidity. Notes of leather and warm spice add depth, leading to a long, structured finish with lingering fruit and mineral intensity.
Full-bodied with refined tannins, this Syrah will evolve gracefully over the next 10–15 years.
WINE CHARACTERISTICS
Vinous
The 2022 Syrah pours a vibrant, electric purple in the glass. Fleshy, resonant and loaded with character, the 2022 delivers a wealth of complex berry fruit, mineral depth and exotic spice richness. Boasting a flush of balanced acidity and racy, engaging textures, this is such an impressive wine. I'm taken aback by how much this already feels like it has its own voice. The future is very bright at Ojai Mountain.”
Billy Norris
Wine Enthusiast
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”
Matt Kettmann
Jeb Dunnuck
94 Editors' Choice
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.”
Jeb Dunnuck
Decanter
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.”
Brianne Cohen
Wine Advocate
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.”
Matthew Luczy
Production
135 cases 100% estate
Vinification
5-day cold soak, open-top fermentation
Aging Process
Aged for 18 months in 100% neutral French oak barriques.
Key Dates
Harvested: August 27, 2022 Bottled: April 26, 2024 Released: February 2025
Winemaker
Erich BradleyKey Principles
Winemaking Process
Our process emphasizes native yeast fermentation, minimal additives, and selective use of neutral French oak. We monitor closely but intervene sparingly, allowing vintage character and site expression to shine through. The result is transparent, food-friendly wines with natural acidity and layered complexity.
Our Winemaking Philosophy
We farm biodynamically at high elevation and intervene minimally in the cellar. The goal isn't to make wine—it's to let the vineyard speak for itself.
Learn About Our ApproachPAIRING
Braised short ribs with rosemary; grilled venison with black pepper; charred eggplant with smoked paprika; dark chocolate tart with sea salt.
The 2022's full body and dense dark fruit need richness to meet them — braised collagen, blackened spice, bitter chocolate. The wine's amplitude holds its shape against bold preparations while mountain acidity keeps everything from going heavy.
Perfect Pairing
The 2022 belongs at a winter table. Braised short ribs with rosemary and cracked black pepper — low-and-slow collagen meets cassis depth and violet tannins in the kind of pairing that improves through the whole bottle.
Ojai Mountain rises at 3,000 feet, just 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean. The valley's rare east-west orientation opens a direct corridor for marine air, allowing coastal winds to moderate heat and slow ripening. Ancient Monterey shale—fractured rock from a prehistoric seabed—drains quickly and forces shallow rooting, naturally limiting vigor and berry size. Farmed organically, the site produces wines of tension and clarity rather than broad ripeness. Elevation, wind, and ocean influence create a cool-climate profile uncommon this far south in California, yielding concentrated flavors with firm structure and lift.
2022 was a hot, fast-moving year on the ridge. Early heat pushed the Syrah blocks toward concentration, with small berries and naturally low yields. Steady mountain winds kept the fruit firm and healthy despite higher temperatures. Vines struggled in the arid conditions, especially following two severe drought years. Harvest took place just ahead of late-August heat spikes. The resulting wines are round and vivid, with dense fruit, high energy, and a broad, resonant structure.
Smaller berries with thicker skins produce intense, focused fruit character.
Dramatic day-night temperature swings preserve freshness and balance.
Steep slopes and varied terrain create distinct microclimates in every block.
Poor soils and rocky shale force vines deep, extracting pure terroir expression.
A captivating and brooding Syrah, harmonizing opulent smoked meats with vibrant acidity, showcasing power and finesse in a masterfully crafted wine poised to evolve into an exceptional vintage over 15+ years.
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A harmonious blend of dark berries, fresh fruit, and gripping tannins, offering a phenomenal experience now or over 8-10 years in the cellar.
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