Ojai Roll Ranch Syrah 2017
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Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck
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Stepping away from the plummy opacity that dominated this wine's youth in years past, there's some transparency in the finer, once slow to show aspects of Roll Ranch. There's more room of the co-fermented Viognier to express itself, melding with the Syrah to express lavender chocolate, just torn Apricot and rich seductive flavors of ripe cherry and muddled raspberry. What is lavis gets balanced by appealing dustiness and the earthy punctuation of dried herbs and nutmeg from the stems. It will continue to evolve along while, but this Roll Ranch Syrah just rocks already.
Blend: 98% Syrah, 2% Viognier
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Syrah Roll Ranch has singular aromas of blueberry, boysenberry, violet, cocoa and coffee laced with exotic spices. The medium to full-bodied palate is bright, fresh and lifted with spicy fruit, a grainy, fresh frame and very long, perfumed finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Based on Syrah blended with a splash of Viognier, the 2017 Syrah Roll Ranch Vineyard has more red and blue fruits as well as some stemmy, violet, and peppery nuances, medium body, a terrific sense of elegance and purity, light tannins, and a great finish. It's another elegant, layered, just straight-up pretty wine from this estate that's a joy to drink. It's going to evolve for 10-15 years with no issues.
Other Vintages
2019- Vinous
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Jeb
Dunnuck
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wilfred
Wong
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker -
Connoisseurs'
Guide
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Wine
Enthusiast
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Jeb
Dunnuck
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
Adam had planted a vineyard in Ojai to Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc and had begun producing wine from that fruit in 1983. When the collaboration with Clendenen ended he concentrated all his attention on The Ojai Vineyard to further explore the infinite details of his craft.
Looking back over the last 25 years, one can see the development of The Ojai Vineyard came in three distinct phases. In the beginning it was lots of fun discovering the budding Santa Barbara County, experimenting with new plantings, new areas, and a wide selection of varietals; Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, and other Rhone varietals. Back in 1983 the vines were grown without much care in what was called a California sprawl. It took years to get growers to move towards progressive practices like drip irrigation and vertical trellising to improved wine grape quality.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
The largest and perhaps most varied of California’s wine-growing regions, the Central Coast produces a good majority of the state's wine. This vast California wine district stretches from San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara along the coast, and reaches inland nearly all the way to the Central Valley.
Encompassing an extremely diverse array of climates, soil types and wine styles, it contains many smaller sub-AVAs, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
While the Central Coast California wine region could probably support almost any major grape varietiy, it is famous for a few Central Coast reds and whites. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are among the major ones. The Central Coast is home to many of the state's small, artisanal wineries crafting unique, high-quality wines, as well as larger producers also making exceptional wines.