Ojai Mountain
Inky, muscular, and deeply expressive — dark blueberry, coffee, cracked pepper, and violets with firm, building tannins. Vinous awarded 96 Points, calling it “a wine that already feels like it has its own voice.” Wine Enthusiast 94 Points Editors' Choice. Drink now–2040.
Top Review
96Vinous
Drinking Window
2025 – 2040
Production
135 cases
The 2022 Syrah is the most powerful and expansive expression from Ojai Mountain to date. A warm growing season produced exceptional concentration while the mountain vineyard retained enough acidity to preserve freshness and balance. Twenty months in neutral French oak add texture without masking the vineyard's personality.
The nose is immediately expressive, offering blackberry, blueberry, violets, fennel pollen, smoked meat, and black pepper. The palate is dense and commanding, unfolding layers of dark plum, blackberry, coffee bean, exotic spice, and savory olive before finishing with broad, polished tannins that continue to build across the palate. Vinous awarded 96 Points, describing the wine as "fleshy, resonant and loaded with character, a wine that already feels like it has its own voice." Wine Enthusiast awarded 94 Points Editors' Choice, praising its cellar potential. Drink now–2040.
2022 arrived nearly a month earlier than 2021, driven by La Niña and a fast summer ripening curve. The team picked ahead of an intense Labor Day heat wave to preserve balance across the vineyard.
The 2022 Syrah was picked August 27, at the end of a fast, dry season and just ahead of triple-digit heat. Wind and drought kept the berries small and yields low, concentrating the fruit on the vine. It is the most muscular expression of Syrah from this period, built around dark fruit, color, and density.
La Niña year. Early, compressed harvest picked ahead of a Labor Day heat wave.
From Our Journal10 min read
How a La Niña season and a Labor Day heat wave produced the estate's largest production since planting.
The 2022 Syrah is a single-varietal, single-clone bottling: 100% Estrella clone Syrah from the estate's original Block 1 planting. A hot, compressed season produced small berries and naturally low yields, concentrating the block's fruit into the estate's most muscular Syrah to date.
| Vintage | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Blend | 100% Syrah (Estrella Clone) |
| Rootstocks | 1103P (Syrah) |
| Clones | Estrella (Syrah) |
| Estate Fruit | 100% |
| Appellation | Ventura County |
Cellar work is deliberately restrained. Grapes are destemmed, then given a 5-day cold soak before fermentation begins. Fermentation takes place in open-top vessels, initiated by the native yeasts present on the fruit and in the winery; no commercial yeast is added at the outset. After pressing, the wine moves directly to neutral French oak barriques for an extended élevage. Bottling is done without fining or filtration.
| Cold Soak | 5 days |
|---|---|
| Fermentation Vessel | Open-top fermenters |
| Yeast | Native yeast |
| Oak Aging | 20 months in neutral French oak barriques |
| Fining & Filtration | Unfined, unfiltered |
From Our Journal10 min read
Erich Bradley's journey in winemaking spans more than 25 vintages, from early cellar work in Sonoma to leading Ojai Mountain's high-elevation vineyard project.
A hot, fast-moving season pushed the 2022 to the highest alcohol of any estate Syrah, yet the mountain's cool nights preserved enough acidity to keep the wine balanced. The result is power with freshness rather than weight.
The richest of the Syrah range: highest alcohol, riper acid profile, and the fullest body of the three vintages.
Amplitude leads. Black raspberry, violets, and fennel pollen open into smoked meat and exotic spice, with dark blueberry, plum, coffee bean, and cracked pepper carried on firm, building tannins. A plush, muscular Syrah with reliable cellar life.
Wine Characteristics
“To make a single-varietal Syrah from a single vineyard — and have the wine hit all the right curves, in all the right places — that's a harder exercise than a blend. So when you've achieved it, it's worthy of recognition.”
| Production Count | 135 Cases |
|---|---|
| Harvest Date | August 27, 2022 |
| Élevage | 20 months |
| Bottled Date | April 26, 2024 |
| Released Date | February 2025 |
Herb-Crusted Prime Rib with Red Wine Shallot Jus. The richness and marbling of prime rib match the wine's muscular texture and concentration. Fresh herbs complement the violet and savory notes, while the red wine shallot jus mirrors the Syrah's depth, spice, and dark fruit.
Fractured Monterey shale at 2,800 feet, ten miles from the Pacific and above the fog line. Almost no topsoil, so roots dig deep and berries stay small.
Hand-farmed block by block on steep mountain terrain. Organically grown, regeneratively farmed, planted at 1,800 vines per acre to keep yields low.
Native yeast, free-run juice only, neutral French oak. No fining on any wine, and the reds go to bottle unfiltered.
Storage, serving, and what makes this wine what it is. For visiting, booking, and policy questions, see our full FAQ.
The 2022 is the most powerful of the range: highest alcohol, fullest body, densest fruit. The 2021 is more vertical and structured; the 2023 is the aromatic outlier at lower alcohol. If you prefer richness and amplitude, this is the vintage.
The 2022 Syrah is built for the long haul, consistent with the drink now through 2040 window above. Firm, building tannins and balanced acidity support 15+ years of development. Store it on its side, in a dark space, at a steady 55°F (13°C) with moderate humidity, away from vibration and temperature swings.
Serve at 60 to 65°F, cooler than room temperature. Given its density, a decant of 45 to 60 minutes lets the violets and fennel pollen rise above the dark fruit. Standard stemware for a full-bodied red is all it needs.
The 2022's full body and dense dark fruit want richness: braised short ribs, grilled venison with black pepper, charred eggplant with smoked paprika, even dark chocolate with sea salt. The wine's amplitude holds its shape against bold preparations while mountain acidity keeps everything from going heavy.
