Mon (4/7) Lunch w/ SteveEdmunds
Usually on my trips to the BayArea, I always try to have lunch w/ SteveEdmunds. What a great way to close out
a great trip w/ an old....errrrr...long-time friend. I have, of course, followed Steve's EdmundsStJohn wines
from the very start, back in the mid-'80's ('86?). Did my first visit w/ him when his wnry was located in
scenic Emeryville, in the high-rent district out behind the Oaks Card Shop on SanPablo.
It's been a bit stressful for Steve&Cornelia as they're in the process of vacating their long-time home
on Walnut in Berkeley to downsize to a smaller place in the area. Amazing how "stuff" accumulates when you
live in the same house for yrs. Steve urged me to take a look at a poetry slam that Cornelia's grandson, Noah,
appeared in on NPR: Noah/SnapJudgement
I've not viewed it yet, but Susan was impressed with it.
Steve used to make his ElDorado Syrah from the Wylie & Fenaughty vnyds. Apparently, the Wylie folks became
very uncooperative and RonMansfield (Steve's crack grower in ElDoradoCnty) dropped the vnyd. They are now
operating under the title of Rome Valley Vnyds. Looking at their WebSite, they don't identify any of the folks
behind it, who their winemaker is, nor that they have any wines yet. Mostly, it appears to be a place to go
get married in the beautiful surroundings of a vnyd, as best I can tell.
Steve makes all his ElDorado wines up at PerryCreek. His Rocks&Gravel is no longer being made at RockWall,
but he is now back in his original wnry on CamilleSt, sharing the space w/ Sasha/Eno. RonMansfield continues
to be his go-to guy up in ElDorado.
So, with little ado, there at our standard CafeRouge lunch, we went to work tasting:
1. SineQuaNon Calif Tarantella WW (Viognier/Roussanne; 14.9%) Ventura 1999: Med.dark gold color; very ripe
figgy/waxy very heavily oaked/tobaccoy/smokey/charred/Fr.oak bit herbal/oxidized/nutty/old Roussanne fairly
complex nose; soft rather fat/porky very strong tobaccoy/toasty/charred/Fr.oak/burnt bit oxidized/toasted
hazelnutty/waxy/figgy/toasted coconut old Roussanne flavor; very long lush/ripe/overripe/figgy/waxy strong
toasty/charred/burnt/Fr.oak rather nutty/old Roussanne/slight oxidized finish; loaded w/ smokey/charred/oak
character; still alive & interesting but much like an old/overaged Calif Chard; a bit tiring on the palate.
______________
2. EdmundsStJohn Heart of Gold ElDorado WTW (61% Vermentino/39% GrenacheBlanc; 11.9%) ThumbnailMoonLight/FairPlay
2013: Light yellow color; strong rather stony/mineral/granatic bright appley/fragrant/pear/spicy very pretty
perfumed nose; tart restrained/elegant/pretty mineral/stony bright/spicy/apple/pear/floral quite perfumed flavor;
very long bright/apple/pear/floral some stony/mineral/earthy finish; not a profound white but very/very pretty
and the kind of wine that makes you keep going back for another glass; a higher % of Vermentino which brings out
more of the ElDorado terroir and makes for a more interesting wine; very well-priced at $20.00
______________
3. EdmundsStJohn Bone-Jolly GamayNoir a JusBlanc ElDoradyCnty (13.5%) 2013: Med.light color; a bit tight/closed
very spicy/grapey/floral/violets some earthy/dusty/ElDorado mushroomy some perfumed/fresh cleaned motel room/
dryer sheet very perfumed/aromatic nose; rather tart/bright/zippy quite spicy/floral/grapey/violets/alpine
flower meadow light earthy/mushroomy/ElDorado flavor w/ little tannins; very long lightly floral/violets/Gamay/
grapey/fruity light earthy/ElDorado terroir finish w/ light tannins; and lovely/pretty/bright/fragrant Gamay
that evokes thoughts of a picnic of salami & cheese on a high alpine meadow whilst JulieAndrews belts out
"The Hills Are Alive..." on the ridge across the valley; delicious stuff. $20.00
_______________________________
BloodyPulpit: Steve thinks that the 2013 vintage, across the board, are some of the best wines he's ever made.
These two would certainly bear that out. Really great drinking at really great prices. No-brainer for me.
Tom
Was Lou old even than! Do the old guy jokes ever get old?