Tried last night w/ leftover Cheetos/Potato au Gratin:
1. EdmundsStJohn Rocks&Gravel RW (Syrah/DurellVnyd+ Grenache/Mendocino+ Mourvedre/ElDoradoCnty; 13.5%) 1998: Med.color w/ little bricking; very attractive spicy/strawberry/blackberry/Grenache some earthy/minerally rather CdR-like/floral/peppery quite perfumed nose; soft smooth/gentle light floral/strawberry/spicy some earthy/mineral/garrigue slight plummy/peppery some complex flavor; med. some soft/gentle strawberry/Grenache/plummy/floral attractive/spicy finish w/ slight tannic aftertaste; quite a nice perfumed CdR-like gentle red wine.
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A wee BP:
1. Cheetos: I felt soooo weird the other day coming out of the store ('twarn't WholeFoods) w/ a bag of Cheetos in my hand. Thought sure the entire chaptre of SloFoods/SantaFe would be standing out there crying "shame/shame" as I ran their gauntlent to my car, being flogged the whole way by the cardoons in their hand. The latest Saveur had their top 100 food tips and one chef recommended Cheetos as a secret ingredient to dishes because of the intense cheesy character it can impart. So I tried it in a potato gratin. It was a good potato gratin, but the Cheetos didn't add much that I could tell. But..man...are those free-range Cheetos addictive when you eat them raw from the bag!!!
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2. R&G: Steve's R&G has always been a frustration for me. On release, it's typically a simple/fruity red that's pleasant enough, but usually fails to excite. However...they have this way of..with a few yrs of btl age...of rising up and biting you on the a$$....they're so good. Steve had suggested that this '98 would not offer up much pleasure. WrongoDongo. This was a very nice wine, though on the gentle side, spoke of a very nice mature CdR that still offered up a nice amount of pleasure.
Not so long ago, Steve was taken to the woodshed by a Monktown attourney about the quality of his wines and sternly upbraided that if he wanted to make Rhone-style wines, he'd be well-advised to go to the RhoneVlly to do that. Fortunately, Steve marches to the beat of his own drummer and is not inclined to have his winemaking style dictated by important wine critics who have big scores to pass out.
Tom