2010 Ovid Syrah

The 2010 Syrah is markedly different than the 2009. Here the cold, long growing season yielded a wine with much more varietal character to play off the characteristic rich blue and black fruit. The 2010 is beautifully delineated and nuanced from start to finish. A wine of extraordinary beauty, today the 2010 is quite primary and in need of further bottle age. Still, readers will have a very hard time keeping their hands off this jewel of a wine.

The 2010 Syrah is markedly different than the 2009. Here the cold, long growing season yielded a wine with much more varietal character to play off the characteristic rich blue and black fruit. The 2010 is beautifully delineated and nuanced from start to finish. A wine of extraordinary beauty, today the 2010 is quite primary and in need of further bottle age. Still, readers will have a very hard time keeping their hands off this jewel of a wine. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2030. (Not yet released) Ovid keeps raising the bar with this drop-dead gorgeous set of new releases. Owners Dana Johnson and Mark Nelson have spared no expense in their pursuit to make world-class wines. These new releases are a testament to their unwavering commitment to quality. This year I also tasted two of the ‘Experiment’ series wines, which bear creative names inspired by Dana Johnson’s background in Library Sciences. The talented Austin Peterson makes the wines, Andy Erickson consults and David Abreu manages the vineyards, but what really counts is what is in the bottle. The results so far from this young property have been nothing less than stellar. Tel. (707) 963-3850; www.ovidvineyards.com