WTN: Ragnarok

Wait, what?

Crumbled chips then fried into a patty? Like tater tots?

Crumble chips, soak in batter for an hour, then fry. It's not as ecstatic as he says, but they are good:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpOPB4Ixg64

And mine looked exactly like his in the video around 3:30.

Nice. Hard to go wrong.

[David M. Bueker]

• 2002 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile - France, Alsace (1/10/2025)
  From the cellar of a friend who passed too soon, this bottle is mature but not advanced, showing exactly as I would expect from a 20+ year old bottle of CFE. The first thing is the stone foundation. Above it is the structure built from quince, lemons, and sea salt. Several years ago there was an extra degree of richness to this vintage, but it has since been honed to a sharper point more typical of the great vintages of CFE. I always loved this vintage for what made it unique, but I may love it even more now for exemplifying what makes CFE so special.

Wait, what?

Crumbled chips then fried into a patty? Like tater tots?

Crumble chips, soak in batter for an hour, then fry. It's not as ecstatic as he says, but they are good:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpOPB4Ixg64

And mine looked exactly like his in the video around 3:30.

Nice. Hard to go wrong.

Which is a good thing. Also, you can make the batter ahead with no worries.

And the whole approach vanquishes the 'squeeze all the water out of the potatoes' task, which is actually a lot more work than anybody admits to. You do sacrifice a little texture and a little freshness but I made the second half of my batch tonight, even over-cooked them a little, and they were still yummy.

[Jenise]

Stoner cooking!

A small-batch version of Adria's potato chip spanish tortilla.

Not a Thor bottle, but since this has turned into an old ESJ thread, I opened one of my last bottles of 2005 Bassetti last night for a friend and was disappointed. Over the years I've had 2 types of 05 Bassetti. Some, like this one, were hard dark and minty and not particularly charming. Others showed riper, more complex and more expressive.

Always tough to know if the difference was stages, or something source-related. I bought some on release, some from Steve's later sales, and then some from post-release retail. I never properly labeled which bottle was from which source, and for a while I thought the charmless bottles were the retail ones. But I wouldn't swear to it in a court of law!

[David M. Bueker]

As my dear friend Beth “likes” to say, “commerce kills wines.”

[David M. Bueker]

• 1997 Edmunds St. John Syrah Higher Ground - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado County (1/11/2025)
  Another bottle from the cellar of the late Thor Iverson, this is both ready (yay!) and delicious. At first blush I would call high quality Crozes Hermitage, perhaps like Graillot. It has the freshness/brightness of a top Crozes, as well as the prominent savory notes like olive and smoked meat. The fruit is still holding on, blackberry/black cherry that comes across like an aroma from a pie that is sitting on a windowsill as you walk past the house. It’s faint but clear.
  
  I’ve had a few bottles of this wine over the last several years, and this is the best, as it has better balance, and more depth to its flavors than prior bottles. Feels like a drink now and catch it at its best situation.

Stoner cooking!

A small-batch version of Adria's potato chip spanish tortilla.

I have tried that, too, though not recently. I was happier with the latkes.

• 1997 Edmunds St. John Syrah Higher Ground - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado County (1/11/2025)
  Another bottle from the cellar of the late Thor Iverson, this is both ready (yay!) and delicious. At first blush I would call high quality Crozes Hermitage, perhaps like Graillot. It has the freshness/brightness of a top Crozes, as well as the prominent savory notes like olive and smoked meat. The fruit is still holding on, blackberry/black cher.

Don't think I've ever seen this bottling1

[David M. Bueker]

IIRC, Steve either didn’t release it until very late, or had a bunch that he sold as an add on to one of his later (non-library) releases. I know I got mine direct.

[Jenise]

Stoner cooking!

A small-batch version of Adria's potato chip spanish tortilla.

I have tried that, too, though not recently. I was happier with the latkes.

Agreed; the flavor of pan-frying on the thinner patties is everything.

Higher Ground was a project begun in 1989, in which 3 parties (including ESJ) invested, to develop a vineyard at 3400' in the south part of El Dorado County, above Fairplay. Very steep terrain, volcanic soil. I hired a vineyard manager who, unfortunately, didn't really have the know-how to deal with the inherent difficulties of the project, but acted like he did. The person who succeeded him came highly recommended, but also, really, was in over her head.

The '97 vintage was the only bottling we ever got that saw any commercial release (all 27 or so cases of it). It was such a pain in the butt, though what might have been seemed so promising. Glad to at least have made something from the ground up, before the whole thing caved in.

[David M. Bueker]

Yikes!

Wonder whatever happened to the vineyard? Everything die, or sold-and-good-riddance to somebody else?

property sold, I heard. Didn't really want to think about it, after the 2nd vineyard manager got through with the '98 vintage.

And we did release it late; when the '97 went in the bottle, the wine just seemed completely closed up for several years. I almost gave up on it, then, suddenly, it began to come to life, very, very slowly.

[David M. Bueker]

Not a Thor bottle, but since this has turned into an old ESJ thread, I opened one of my last bottles of 2005 Bassetti last night for a friend and was disappointed. Over the years I've had 2 types of 05 Bassetti. Some, like this one, were hard dark and minty and not particularly charming. Others showed riper, more complex and more expressive.

Always tough to know if the difference was stages, or something source-related. I bought some on release, some from Steve's later sales, and then some from post-release retail. I never properly labeled which bottle was from which source, and for a while I thought the charmless bottles were the retail ones. But I wouldn't swear to it in a court of law!

I just checked inventory, and I still have 3 bottles of 2005 Bassetti, along with 3 Pamelee Hill and 1 Wylie-Fenaughty. Going to need to dig out a few soon.

This is what I have remaining:
2005 Syrah "Bassetti" 1
2009 Syrah "Wylie Vineyard" 2
2010 Syrah "Wylie-Fenaughty" 1
2015 Syrah "North Canyon Road" 2

[David M. Bueker]

My entire list is much too long to post. For quite a while I took heed of Tom Hill’s “shoulda bought a case” mantra.

Fourth Thor bottle: Wayward Pilgrims otv 2004 Rocks & Gravel is just the best red wine I have drunk for months and months. Richly textured, darkberry fruit, a finish of stones stones dry and stones, just enough acids to curl the edge of your tongue a little. Wow. And just as good on Day 2.

[David M. Bueker]

Nice! I got one of those as well.

[David M. Bueker]

Sadly, the bottle of 2004 Rocks & Gravel was corked.

Sadly, the bottle of 2004 Rocks & Gravel was corked.

Sorry to hear that, David. Thor would have had some choice words for that particular outcome.

Sadly, the bottle of 2004 Rocks & Gravel was corked.

Rats!

Maybe I need to find a different store…. I live in Boston and in Asheville area…. I don’t feel like I ever see ESJ wines in either place… and I love them