Spring 2026 Release

Release details

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Spring 2026 Release

Our first wine, now six years evolved, released alongside our most fragrant Syrah.

The 2020 vintage marked our beginning—our inaugural release. Now, as a library release, this Wine Enthusiast Top 100 selection returns alongside the elegant, Northern-Rhone style 2023 Syrah—shaped by Ventura County's fifth-wettest year in over a century. Two expressions of the mountain, each telling a different story.

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2020 Vintage

Why This Vintage Matters

The 2020 harvest marked the inaugural vintage at Ojai Mountain. The vines were planted in 2018, and we approached this season as an essential year of learning and establishing a foundation for the decades ahead.

Clarity emerged early, with fine-grained tannins, precise fruit, and a profile shaped squarely by the site.

Six years of evolution

What began as an experiment has grown into a wine that reflects the promise of the site.

Six years from harvest, the 2020 Estate Red has deepened beautifully. “Broad in stature but balanced and calibrated,” writes Vinous—a wine shaped by time without losing its edge. This library release offers a rare opportunity to taste where we began.

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Wine Enthusiast (93 Points, Top 100 Cellar Selection)

“It's firmly built, featuring mountaintop-influenced tannins that will last for years. It's the inaugural vintage of one of the more interesting estates to come to California in years.”

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2020 Estate Red

Dark-fruited|Savory|Structured

Our inaugural vintage — a modern Bordeaux-Rhône blend with notes of cassis, blackberries, and tart cherries, lifted by an iron-edged freshness. Structured, flavorful, and built to age. You can lay this one down for years. Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Cellar Selection.



VARIETALS

30% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Mourvèdre, 8% Cabernet Franc


CHEMISTRY

Alcohol: 13.6% | pH: 3.45 | TA: 6.4

93 points Wine Enthusiast
91 points Jeb Dunnuck
91 points Vinous
93

Wine Enthusiast

Top 100 Cellar Selection

There are many reasons to lay this wine down for years to come. Firstly, it's firmly built, featuring mountaintop-influenced tannins that will last for years. Secondly, it's the inaugural vintage of one of the more interesting estates to come to California in years. And lastly, it's a unique expression, offering dark berry, smoked meat and pencil shavings on the nose and palate, where that structure persists deep into the finish. Drink now–2040.”

Matt Kettmann

91

Jeb Dunnuck

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.”

Jeb Dunnuck

91

Vinous

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.”

Billy Norris

Production

264 cases 100% estate

Vinification

5-day cold soak, open-top fermentation

Aging Process

Aged for 20 months in 100% neutral French oak barriques.

Key Dates

Harvested: Aug 16 – Sep 6, 2020 Bottled: April 19, 2022 Released: August 2023

Winemaker

Erich Bradley

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 Winemaking Approach

Key Principles

  • Vineyard health and timing over cellar correction
  • Native fermentation with close monitoring
  • Minimal additives (sulfur only, used sparingly)
  • Vintage variation as a feature, not a flaw
  • Wines built for the table with food compatibility

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.

PAIRING

Charcoal-grilled lamb shoulder, rosemary jus, and young garlic; braised beef with dried mushrooms and red wine stock; roasted eggplant, smoked tomato, and aged Pecorino.

The wines hold their shape alongside hearty flavors yet remain bright enough for herb-driven or earthy preparations.

pasta

Try Our Suggested Recipe

This wine was made for meaty, earthy flavors. Try it with our portobello mushroom pappardelle—rosemary, garlic, and Parmesan meet dark berry and smoked meat notes in perfect harmony.

Get The Recipe
2023_october-harvest_syrah-clusters

2023 Vintage

A Demanding Season

2023 was Ventura County's fifth-wettest year in more than a century. Spring stayed cold and foggy, delaying flowering and reducing yields. The fruit came in small, intense, and deeply structured.

A Cool-Season Expression

Syrah is cool-toned and bright, shaped more by structure than ripeness.

For the first time, we co-fermented 12% Grenache Blanc with the Syrah, a technique borrowed from the Northern Rhône that adds subtle lift and aromatic complexity without compromising the wine's savory core.

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Erich Bradley, Winemaker:

“I love tension in wine, especially as I get older. It's something that I look for more and more. I used to just look for it in whites, and now I look for it in reds as well.”

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2023 Syrah

Vibrant|Bright Nose|Delicate Fruit

The most aromatic and immediately expressive Syrah from this estate — elderflower, lingonberry, tart cherry, and cracked pepper on a supple, rounded palate. Vinous 94 Points — “impressive textural polish.” Drink now–2035.



VARIETALS

88% Syrah, 12% Grenache Blanc


CHEMISTRY

Alcohol: 13.1% | pH: 3.79 | TA: 5.4 | Malic Acid: <0.05

94 points Vinous
94

Vinous

The 2023 Syrah is yet another impressive edition of this wine, in this vintage much more delicate and tender than the potent 2022 tasted last year. The textural polish here is impressive, but I sense that the warmer vintages are a little more favorable in this marginal site. Blue-toned fruit, cedar, tobacco and white truffle linger on the long finish.”

Billy Norris

Production

56 cases 100% estate

Vinification

5-day cold soak, open-top fermentation

Aging Process

Aged for 19 months in 100% neutral French oak barriques.

Key Dates

Harvested: September 26, 2023 Bottled: April 30, 2025 Released: February 2026

Winemaker

Erich Bradley

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 Winemaking Approach

Key Principles

  • Vineyard health and timing over cellar correction
  • Native fermentation with close monitoring
  • Minimal additives (sulfur only, used sparingly)
  • Vintage variation as a feature, not a flaw
  • Wines built for the table with food compatibility

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.

PAIRING

Seared duck breast with tart apples and fresh mint; pepper-crusted lamb loin with thyme; grilled mushrooms with cracked black pepper and olive oil.

The wine’s fine tannins cut through richness, while fresh acidity and savory lift keep fruit and fat in balance.

Syrah 2023 Ojai Mountain Recipe Cover

Try Our Suggested Recipe

This Syrah was built for duck. Black pepper and dried herb notes mirror the seasoning, while citrus lift from Grenache Blanc brightens the apples and keeps the finish clean and focused.

Get The Recipe
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