2003 Ojai Syrah Verna's Vineyard

I did not see the 2004 Syrah Verna’s Vineyard (a site planted with new clones), but the 2003 exhibits more tart acidity and less ripeness than its siblings, but also an elegant, Crozes-Hermitage-like style offering notes of herbs and resiny forest floor. While good to excellent, it is not up to the quality level of the other cuvees. 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