WTN: 2001 Edmunds St. John California Syrah - predictably great

[David M. Bueker]

Dinner in Long Beach with Kriss Reed the other night. He brought this wine & we both got the lamb shank for dinner.

Heaven!

There's all kinds of raspberry fruit and leather in the wine with some subtle spice & a delicious earthiness (not barnyard at all). Fantastic wine that is drinking really well right now. The tannins are mellowing, so it's very easy to drink too fast. We shared a glass with the restaurant owner (which he loved) & now we're trying to get him to drop Steve an e-mail.

If you've got any 2001 Syrah open a bottle. It's so good now.

I immediately checked my cellar program and yes! I have one bottle of the 2001. So, now I have to decide if I want to have this with grilled sirloin tonight, or wait until I pick up some lamb.

[David M. Bueker]

Either way would be fantastic. If all you're going to do with the lamb is grill it then why wait - go for the sirloin.

Well, I guess my mileage varied. While the nose promised plums and berries, with a meaty funk, there was very little fruit in the mouth, except in the finish. It was earthy though, and still enjoyable. I think it would have been better with lamb like braised shanks, or maybe stew.

There were more tannins than I expected so I decanted the bottle but didn' t notice much change until now (about 2 hours later). The tannins have smoothed out and there's a bit of blueberry-raspberry hint coming through.

I've filled a half-bottle from the decanter and will check back tomorrow to see how it's evolved. Meanwhile, I'm finishing up the rest and am feelling quite mellow while I savor the last few ounces.