2005 The Ojai Vineyard Syrah Melville Vineyard Sta. Rita Hills

There is, in all truth, plenty to like here, and the Ojai Vineyard's practiced hand with Syrah is again plain. It is ripe and peppery and graced with sweet-and-smoky hints of bacon, yet, when measured against the best of its clan, it seems just a touch softer and marginally less complex. Find it a place in the front of the cellar and tag it for drinking a few years in advance of its deeper mates.

Vivid ruby. Highly perfumed bouquet of blackberry, potpourri, smoky minerals and incense. Vibrant red and dark berry flavors gain depth and sweetness with air, picking up an exotic candied floral quality. The mineral element resonates strongly on the strikingly pure and focused finish. This is pretty sexy right now but possesses the balance to reward patience.