WTN: Outstanding Gamay - 2007 ESJ Porphyry Barsotti Ranch

[David M. Bueker]

2007 Edmunds St. John Gamay Noir Porphyry Barsotti Ranch
This is still incredibly delicious and fresh five years post vintage. The primary fruit is still in evidence, though it has receeded somewhat, giving an even larger stage to the chalky and stony underpinnings of the wine. I'm not sure where it comes from, as Steve is not a guy who lets wood influence his wines these days, but there's a slight finishing spice that is very intruiging and tasty. Wonderful Gamay from Steve Edmunds. So sad it's all gone.

ESH???
Ellen Ste. Hune ?

[David M. Bueker]

ESH???
Ellen Ste. Hune ?

Coffee...must have more coffee.

I'm having coffee, right now!
The Porphyry is Gamay grown in decomposed granite soil, at around 3,000 feet elevation, east of Placerville, a bit north and down the hill from Witters' Vineyard, the original site where we planted Gamay. '07 is the first year the vines carried a crop, so there was only about a ton (which is why it was all gone so quckly). The wine was fermented without de-stemming, grapes crushed by foot. It never saw wood. We bottled it in May of '08.
The Porphyry name was relegated to hiatus after '08, since having two Gamays on the market (and being the only producer of Gamay in CA) didn't seem too smart, though others have argued that it was a good idea.
Last year Witters had such severe frost issues that the fruit I got from there all went into our rosé, and the Bone-Jolly red from '11 is all from the Barsotti fruit. For the foreseeable future that will continue. It really seems special, and it's very clear that Gamay and granite play well together. If you liked the '07 Porphyry, I think the '11 Bone-Jolly will impress.

cheers,
Steve

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks for the history reminder Steve.

I would suggest that the Porphyry name is cool but probably not so useful on a commercial basis.

Does the '11 have the vineyard designation since it's all Barsotti fruit? That is info that would be useful IMO (to me & commercially).

it doesn't, only because I want to leave my options open for future vintages, but I will definitely think of it before the next labels go to print!

[David M. Bueker]

Steve,

If you pop back into this, one more question. Are you planning ot stick with a mix of screw caps and DIAM? I've liked the results on the DIAM so far, and wonder what your thoughts are. While I have always been a fan of screw caps, the DIAM is making me rethink that.

I'm still trying to catch up on the screwcap learning curve. I like them a lot. Also, DIAM just about doubled their prices. Still like them, though.

[David M. Bueker]

Also, DIAM just about doubled their prices. Still like them, though.

Pass it on. I know I'll pay. Of course I'm likely a little more obsessed/forgiving than the average distributor.