ONX estate spotlight
ONX Estate Vineyard Tour. The Templeton Gap ranch behind this 2018 Reckoning.
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher tracks this vintage across the open market.
2018 ONX Reckoning Templeton Gap District Paso Robles, USA
Drew Nenow's Syrah-led Reckoning from Templeton Gap onyx calcite, Wine Enthusiast 94, a 2018 you can open at fifty-four dollars.
The 2018 ONX Reckoning is 67 percent Syrah, 31 percent Petite Sirah, and 2 percent Zinfandel from the estate vineyard in Templeton Gap: pomegranate, plum, smoked brisket, allspice, and black pepper, now $54.
Templeton Gap Syrah with onyx calcite in the dirt
ONX takes its name from onyx calcite in the estate soils. Steve and Brenda Olson farm 127 acres in the Templeton Gap wind tunnel, coastal air by day, Paso warmth in the fruit. Drew Nenow built the 2018 Reckoning as a Syrah flagship: clone 470 in one tank, a co-ferment with Petite Sirah in the other, then 19 months in French oak, about 40 percent new. Wine Enthusiast 94. This is the bottle that argues Paso Syrah can have smoke and tension at fifty-four dollars.
The house
Steve and Brenda Olson planted ONX in Templeton Gap. Drew Nenow has run the cellar since 2018.
The wine
67% Syrah, 31% Petite Sirah, 2% Zinfandel. Whole-berry tanks, concrete for Petite Sirah, 19 months French oak.
The scores
Wine Enthusiast 94 on this 2018. A Syrah flagship, not a sweet Paso blend.
The drinker
Serve 60 to 64 F. Thirty minutes of air. Ribeye or lamb.
Pomegranate and plum, then smoke and pepper
The house note on 2018 Reckoning is pomegranate seed and fresh plum through the center, then smoked brisket, allspice, and black pepper on the savory close. Nenow wants Templeton Gap Syrah to show Paso fruit with cool-wind tension, not a jam costume.
A Paso year Nenow could shape into a flagship Syrah: destemmed whole berry, a short cold soak, then a long maceration before French oak. Bottled in spring 2020. Ready now, still built to hold.
Pomegranate, fresh plum, smoked meat, allspice, black pepper.
15.4% ABV, 19 months French oak about 40% new, Petite Sirah grip, Syrah core.
Savory, pepper, brisket. Serve 60 to 64 F. Thirty minutes of air.
Two Syrah tanks, then Petite Sirah in concrete
Nenow destemmed Syrah whole berry to two stainless tanks: one co-fermented with 20 percent Petite Sirah, the other 100 percent clone 470. Three days of cold soak, then about 17 days on skins with two pumpovers a day. Petite Sirah harvested a week later went destemmed into concrete for 12 days. Nineteen months in 500-liter and 225-liter French oak, about 40 percent new.
The Gap is a wind tunnel. Coastal air keeps Syrah from turning into jam. Onyx calcite in the soil is the house name.
Serve 60 to 64 F. Air is for perfume and smoke, not rescue.
Onyx in the soil, a Seal Beach family in Templeton
ONX is pronounced onyx. The Olsons bought a 127-acre Templeton Gap ranch as a country escape, then built a cellar around the calcite in the dirt.
Steve and Brenda Olson develop homes in Orange and Los Angeles counties. ONX is the farm they planted off Paseo Excelsus in 2005.
Drew Nenow has been head winemaker since 2018. Reckoning is the Syrah flagship. Mad Crush is the Grenache conversation.
The tasting room sits in Tin City. The fruit is estate Templeton Gap.
Ribeye on the board, then lamb
Reckoning wants char, fat, and rosemary. Smoke in the glass meets a hard crust. Pepper meets lamb.
Two plates. One ribeye. One rack of lamb. Both can take this Syrah.
Serve 60 to 64 F. Thirty minutes of air. This is a flagship Syrah, not a splash pour.
Pan-seared ribeye
Kenji's hard sear, rosy center, coarse salt.
Why it works: Char and fat match dark fruit while tannin cuts the crust.
View Recipe for pan-seared steaks (opens in a new tab)
Rosemary garlic rack of lamb
Nagi's rosemary garlic marinade, roasted pink.
Why it works: Rosemary and lamb fat echo savory spice in the glass.
View Recipe for rosemary garlic rack of lamb (opens in a new tab)Put 2018 Reckoning in the cart
Wine Enthusiast 94. Templeton Gap Syrah. $27 when you buy two.
Put it in the cart. This is estate Reckoning with smoke and pepper, not a sweet Paso blend.
