2008 Ojai Syrah Cuvée Henry Daniel
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Tasting notes
The second iteration of this cuvée, the 2008 Syrah Cuvée Henry Daniel (named for Adam Tolmach's son) is still an impenetrably opaque ruby-black, unwinding in the decanter and glass with a youthful bouquet of crushed currents, blackberry, bay leaf and burnt sage, with a subtle framing of nutty oak on the upper register. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, powerful and—in Tolmach's phrase—bombastic, with an ample core of ripe fruit, an imposing chassis of fine-grained tannins that's beginning to soften, and a formidable payload of extract. Importantly, it also possesses the balance to support all that substance. "At the time I was still stuck on extracting every last bit of character from those grapes," says Tolmach, and I suspect that the 2017 rendition of this cuvée will reveal more complexity and detail at the same age, but it's still a formidable bottle of Syrah with a good two decades of longevity—and, I suspect, its best days—ahead of it.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Coming from Bien Nacido, Roll Ranch, and Melville, the 2008 Syrah Henry Daniel is still youthful, yet has some maturity and development in its ripe blackberry, smoked meats, licorice and black olive. Deep, rich and concentrated, with plenty of depth and structure, it's drinking gorgeously today, but will keep for another decade. I always love the tasting with Ojai Vineyard’s Adam Tolmach and Fabien Castel. Consistent with just about every winemaker I spoke to, both commented on the tiny yields of 2015, which Adam attributed to an accumulation of drought and salt buildup as opposed to poor weather in the spring. Over the past decade or so, the style of the wines from this estate has significantly changed with harvest occurring much earlier than in the past. Today, the wines lean heavily towards the racy, lean end of the spectrum, while still offering fruit and texture.