Tried this last night @ dinner:
1. Bedrock Zin Sherman'sGold EsolaVnyd/ShenandoahVlly/AmadorCnty (14.5%) 2014: Med.color; very strong briary/brmably/AmadorZin/spicy/blackberry/raspberry rather perfumed nose; fairly tart strong raspberry/blackberry/Zin briary/brambly/AmadorZin some dusty/OV very spicy light earthy flavor w/ modest bit lean tannins; very long rather tart/lean quite spicy/briary/brambly/AmadorZin some dusty/OV finish w/ light brisk/tight tannins; pretty atypical of ShenandoahVlly and not nearly so ripe; speaks of AmadorZin w/ a quiet confident voice; reminds a bit of some of the less-ripe Ridge ShenandoahVlly Zins w/o the strong oak signature; a rather wirey/high-strung kind of AmadorZin; mostly reminds me of the BeauVal Zin (not that anybody would remember those), some of the early Santinos; most AmadorZins are Shaq or WesUnsoeld; this Bedrock is more LewAlcindor or WillieMurell; quite an interesting rendition of AmadorZin. $35.50
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. EsolaVnyd: I have, of course, followed the EsolaZins from the very start. In the early '70's, Ridge made ShenandoahVlly Zin that came from Esola, plus Fiddletown Zin from ChetEschenRanch. In '74, FrankMahoney started making EsolaVnyd Zin at CarnerosCreek, including some amazin LatePickd & LateHrvst Zins; plus EschenZin as well. They were both big/ripe/extracted/alcoholic bruisers of Zinfandels. Both dropped their Amador Zin programs in the late '70's because they tended to be on the overripe side.
After that, the EsolaVnyd pretty much dropped from view and I don't know where the grapes were going to. So I was excited to see that Morgan had taken those grapes again and certain that he would return EsolaVnyd to its former greatness. From his write-up on the Sherman'sGold release, I had a strong hunch that it would not be in the Ridge/CarnerosCreek mold. And indeed it was not. Better than those??? Not sure I'd say that. But certainly that and just as tasty as were those.
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2. OrneryErnie: Was how many of the locals referred to Ernie Esola, so I've been told. The EsolaVnyd was owned by Ernie & Lena d'Agostini Esola, along w/ Ernie's brother, John. Never did get a chance to meet John. But Ernie & Lena were was as down-home/straight-shootin'/honest farmers as you'd ever want to meet...much like the aw-shucks farmers I knew back in Kansas.
In the late '70's, I was writing an article for PhilipSeldon's Vintage magazine on "Zinfandels of the Esola & Eschen Vnyds", based on the Ridge & CarnerosCreek Zins of the time. I wrote Ernie & made an appointment to visit him. Ernie & Lena were so excited that an "important" wine writer wanted to interview them that they insisted I come for lunch at their home, just north a few doors from the main intersection in PokerVille. I was a bit surprised when I pulled up in their driveway. It looked straight out of a ramshackle farm house in Central Kansas or a hillbilly cabin in the Ozarks...a bit run down and junk galore in the back yard. But two of the friendliest folks you'd ever want to meet.
Ernie & I jumped in his beat-up pickup and went out to walk the vnyd out on ShenandoahSchoolRd. It was clear whilst listening to Ernie that he took a great deal of pride in those grapes he was growning....just beaming & aglow when he showed me some of those old vines.
We returned to his home and sat down in this very old-timey living room and proceeded w/ the interview of the two of them. They filled me in on a lot of the history of the ShenandoahVlly and grapegrowing there. We then adjourned to the kitchen for lunch, Ernie & Lena all dressed in their Sunday finest in honor of this "famous" wine writer. I don't remember much of the meal, nor the menu, but it was good hearty/simple fare. much like the meals I remember down on my GrandPa&GrandMa's farm back in Kansas.
At lunch, Ernie went back and got a half-btl (not 375 ml back then) of his Ho-Made Zin that Frank bttld for them as gifts at Denise's (their daughter) wedding a few yrs afore. The wine was a bit on the oxidized side, quite overripe (probably 2'nd crop) and pruney. But, being the "famous" winewriter that I was, I managed to come up w/ a few descriptors of it that left Ernie & Lena beaming w/ pride.
During lunch, I casually mentioned that my car (the 2'nd one I ever owned...a '68 Dodge Dart/slant 6) was making some strange knocking sounds. So, after lunch, Ernie insisted I pull my car around in back near the garage. He donned his overalls, jacked up the rear-end, and crawled under. After a few minutes underneath, he crawled out and gave me the verdict..."badly-worn U-Joints...need to get them replaced". Had there been an auto supply shop there in Plymouth, I'm sure Ernie would have replaced them right then & there. I did get them replaced at a Dodge mechanic's down in Sacramento.
Alas, in the late '80's or early '90's, Ernie died in an explosion of an acetylene tank whilst he was doing a welding job there at home. Lena continued to run the EsolaRanch until her death some 3-4 yrs ago. Their daughter, Denise, now runs the vnyd. I tried to track down Lena several times after that when I was up in PokerVille....but w/ no success.
Anywho....this Bedrock Zin brought back some very fond memories as I drank it last night of this really very special couple...Ernie & Lena. Some good times.
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3. ScottHarvey: I, of course, followed Scott from the very start...back when he was a cellar hand at Montevina under CaryGott. He subsequently bought the old JohnDowning home & farm and became winemaker for Nancy Santino, after her husband, Matt, died. The DowningVnyd, whose grapes once went to feed his pigs, was renamed the GrandPereVnyd...one of the oldest (maybe the oldest) plantings of Zin & Barbera in Calif. He took the vnyd to fame making GrandPere Zins under the Renwood label. It is still owned/farmed by his ex, Terri.
Some of his early Santino Zins showed much more restraint and much less ripeness than he subsequently made under the Renwood label, after buying the wnry from Nancy. For a few yrs, Scott also was the winemaker for a nearby wnry by the name of BeauVal. Don't recall where that vnyd was located nor who the $$'s behind it were. But those, too, were made in a more restrained style than is typical for the ShenandoahVlly. This Bedrock Zin reminded me some of those.
Sorry...end of this trip down memory lane.
Tom