2008 Ojai Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard

The 2008 Pinot Noir Clos Pepe comes across as quite deep and rich in style. Dark red cherries, black pepper, sweet herbs and spices are some of the notes that flow from this intense Pinot. The spring frost lowered yields dramatically at Clos Pepe to less than one ton per hectare. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2020. I admit I have mixed feelings about the wines I tasted at Ojai with proprietor Adam Tolmach and winemaker Fabien Castel. On the positive side, the wines are classy, elegant and also very fairly priced considering the quality of what is in the bottle. At the same time, it is obvious yields aren’t particularly low, which is somewhat mystifying considering Tolmach works with first-rate sites and is clearly getting pristine fruit. Don’t get me wrong, these are excellent wines?but they could be truly great, and maybe beyond great. The cellars are kept cold year-round, while the approach to winemaking remains quite minimalist. All of the whites are fermented in barrel, with full malolactic fermentation and very low levels of new oak. The Pinots are aged on their lees and are racked only before bottling. The Pinots see 25-35% new oak, while the Syrahs see even less. In recent years Tolmach has begun experimenting with whole clusters for both his Pinots and Syrahs. Tel. (805) 649-1674; www.ojaivineyard.com

Deep red. The densest and darkest in character of this set of pinots, offering ripe dark berry and cherry aromas and flavors and a hint of licorice. Becomes brighter with air, picking up peppery spice qualities and a touch of rose pastille. A bit of a tough read but there's clearly excellent material here. I'd come back to this one in a year or so.