2003 Ojai Syrah White Hawk Vineyard

The 2003 Syrah White Hawk Vineyard is intense. This wine, which comes from sandy soils, possesses an opaque blue/purple color, fabulous fruit concentration and density, a noble definition and sweetness of fruit, a broad, savory mouthfeel, and a blockbuster finish. It is one of the finest 2003 Syrahs Adam Tolmach has produced. Adam Tolmach kindly conducted a mini-vertical, going back to 1995, of his Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah, and it was good to see how well they all performed. My favorites included the 1996 (93 points), 1998 (91 points), 2000 (93 points), and 2002 (93 points). The only wine that did not show as well as I would have hoped was the 1997 (88 points), which was much lighter and on a faster evolutionary track. Tel. (805) 649-1674