Tasting Notes:

Jeb Dunnuck — score not published in the sources available
“I always love the Syrah from this team, and the 2021 Syrah is no exception,” possessing a majestic, opulent, singular style in its black and blue fruits as well as exotic floral, pepper, candied orange and subtle game nuances. Full-bodied, ripe and sexy, but holding onto a remarkable sense of purity and freshness.

Wine-Searcher’s aggregate score for the 2021 is 96/100, with a drinking window of 2026 to 2038. Decanter, Vinous and Jeb Dunnuck have all reviewed this bottling, but their individual scores sit behind subscriber paywalls.

Cult Wines International Notes:

Ovid is known to most collectors for its Cabernet-based Napa Valley red — the 2021 of which earned 100 points from both Decanter and Jeb Dunnuck. Far fewer know the estate makes a Syrah at all. Produced in tiny batches from the same Pritchard Hill ridge, it is the wine the team returns to out of conviction rather than commerce, and it rarely reaches the open market. Of the bottles tracked in collector cellars worldwide, well over ninety percent remain unopened.

Ovid sits at the top of Pritchard Hill, on the eastern ridge above Napa Valley, on a small property of roughly six hectares divided into seventeen blocks. The estate was founded by Mark Nelson and Dana Johnson and is now owned by the Duncan family, with Austin Peterson as winemaker. Its guiding principle is that the vineyard, not the grape variety, should decide the wine. Blends are never planned in advance; the team tastes through the individual lots after harvest and roughly six months in barrel, looks for common themes and compelling ideas, then follows each pathway to see where it leads. The final wine sits at a meeting point between what the vineyard wants, what the vintage gave, and the team’s own sense of its ideal form.

The Syrah is the estate’s quiet obsession. Hand-crafted in tiny batches and first bottled in 2009, it has evolved steadily under a non-interventionist approach. For the 2021 a portion of whole clusters went into a small open-top tank to add structure and intrigue. Fermentation was spontaneous, and the wine was raised in Burgundian French oak with minimal racking before bottling in June. Dense and unctuous, it brims with fresh blueberry, jasmine, toffee, Madagascan vanilla, bresaola and flint, alongside exotic floral notes, black pepper, candied orange and a subtle game character. Rich and broad across the palate, delivering power and depth that belie its poise. Expect it to keep revealing itself for decades.

Bottle Size:

750 mL

Storage History:

Always stored properly in a climate-controlled cellar.

Condition:

Perfect