2014 Ojai Vineyard Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria Valley

The Tireless Wizard of Ojai & His Pinot Noir Potions

He’s the ultimate throwback. Maybe that’s why we keep going back. Nowhere on the coast is a winemaker so utterly obsessed with making signature, single-vineyard wines — with barely an eye for selling them — than up here in the Ojai hills. In three bare-bones, spotlessly clean, refrigerated barns, Adam Tolmach and his assistant winemaker Fabien Castel make Chardonnays, Syrahs, and Pinot Noirs that regularly seem to blow away every critic save two: themselves.

Is that unyielding perfectionism how we explain Antonio Galloni’s rave 95-point review of this 2014 Ojai Pinot Noir? Is Tolmach’s manic genius, his unique capacity for nursing rich, high-toned, Burgundian elegance from the Bien Nacido Vineyard, part of why Galloni called Ojai’s 2014s “another stellar set of new releases” and some of “the best wines readers will find anywhere for the money”?

On our last visit to Tolmach’s winery, a four-hour tasting trip, we tried to answer those questions. We wanted to decipher the magic behind Tolmach’s consistent excellence on the Central Coast. Over Adam’s homemade burritos —stuffed with beans and vegetables from the garden — we quizzed the curly-haired winemaker about the conditions and farming practices for the 2014 vintage.

Like the greatest names of Burgundy, Adam was his own worst critic, finding faults where we found none. He spoke quietly about his hand-selected block at Bien Nacido, how he contracted by the acre, not the ton, so that he could have his block custom-farmed to his own specifications. As we sipped this exquisite, wild-berry Pinot Noir, a pause fell and Adam seemed to disappear into his own thoughts. A minute later he spoke up. “Perfection is unattainable, of course. But each year you find something you can do better.”

Tolmach went on to explain that in his cool-climate Pinot block, at Bien Nacido’s highest elevation, he used to rely on large, wild bush vines that tended to produce unevenly ripened fruit. So Tolmach started growing vines on vertical trellises that made for more even sun exposure across the whole plant. Through trial and error, he introduced a few other subtle techniques: shoot thinning, green thinning, lateral removal. The result? Tolmach can now pick beautiful, evenly ripe grapes at lower sugar levels, which accounts for this wine’s explosive aromatic profile, and a characteristic elegance and purity that is Tolmach’s signature.

For Burgundy loyalists who believe that California Pinot Noir never quite measures up to “the real thing,” this wine is the compelling rebuttal. As to the California Pinot Noir collectors and enthusiasts among us, Tolmach’s 2014 Bien Nacido Pinot — by both our scorecard and that of Vinous — ranks among the greatest coastal Pinot Noirs of the last five years at ANY price!

Brilliant ruby in hue. Intoxicating aromas of smoke, black cherry, and wild strawberry, complicated by white pepper and cinnamon. Sleek and light on its feet, richly textured and with laser-like precision, filled with red-fruit intensity, finishing with terrific length and vibrant persistence. Drink now for its sheer beauty in youth or, like all of Tolmach’s great single-vineyard Pinots, lay this one down for upwards of nine years.

A glowing 95 points from Antonio Galloni. One of the most magnificently honed Pinots we’ve had in some time, thanks to the relentless work ethic of the Wizard of Ojai. $50 on release. Just $45 from WineAccess today. Shipping included on 4.

• ABV 13.50%
• Enjoy right away
• % Pinot Noir