We tried Sat night (3/25/17) some Edmunds St John Library Wines:
0. Peay Roussanne/Marsanne Estate/SonomaCoast (71% Roussanne/29% Marsanne; www.PeayVineyards.com; 12.6%)
2012: Med.light gold bit cloudy color; strong chalky/mineral/stony quite appeley/Marsanne slight honeysuckle/
Rouss light smokey/toasty/oak slight herbal/thyme/musky somewhat complex nose; quite tart/lean/austere/structured
rather pear/apple/Marsanne quite stony/chalky/mineral slight nutmeg/oak/smokey complex flavor; very long tart/
austere quite chalky/mineral/stony some appley/pear/Marsanne light nutmeg/smokey/Fr.oak complex finish; a quite
terroir-driven wine that doesn't speak much of Roussanne; still needs another 5-10 yrs. $48.00
_______________________
0. TablasCreekVnyd Esprit Blanc de Tablas (64% Roussanne/26% GrenacheBlanc/10% PicpoulBlanc; 13.5%) 2011: Med.gold color;
very fragrant/perfumed honeysuckle/Rouss/honeyed/floral light smokey/oak slight perfumed talc/chalky complex nose;
very rich/lush lightly tart/balanced intense honeysuckle/Rouss/honeyed quite spicy light perfumed talc complex flavor;
very long/lingering rich/lush/balanced/smooth very strong floral/honeysuckle/Rouss/honeyed slight perfumed talc/
mineral finish; a beautiful/balanced/rich Rhone white that should easily go another 10 yrs; not yet showing any
nutty/oxidative notes whatsoever; beautiful Rhone blend.
_______________________
1. EdmundsStJohn Viognier Alban-Durell/Calif (15.3%) P&B by Intuition&BlindLuck/Berkeley 1997: Med.gold color; some
nutty/toasted hazelnuts/honeyed bit toasty/smokey/pencilly slight pear/Viog quite complex nose lightly tart very
spicy/toasted hazelnuts/nutty bit pungent some smokey/pencilly some caramel/conconutty bit Condrieu-like/earthy
slight pear/Viog very complex flavor; very long slightly tart/lean strong toasted hazelnuts/nutty/caramel/toasted
coconuts slight pencilly/smokey very slight pear/Viog/Condrieu-like/peach very complex finish; no signs of over-
ripeness or alcohol whatsoever; in absolutely amazing shape and showing no overt signs of oxidation or bitterness
whatsover; a masterfull example of a mature Viognier that you seldom find from Calif; I would gues the Alban
Viognier '97 would not hold up to this one. $42.00
_______________________
2. EdmundsStJohn LesCotesSauvages Calif RTW (14.2%; Grenache/Syrah from Mendocino/Sonoma + Mourvedre/
BrandlinRanch) P&B by EdStJ 4059 EmerySt/Emeryville 1995: Med.dark color w/ light bricking; rather pungent/burning
metal/ozone/reductive bit funky nose that clears to rather strawberry/Grenache slight smokey/Rhonish rather complex
nose; lightly tart strong strawberry/Grenache slight earthy bit Rhonish/smokey some cedary/pencilly/old red complex
flavor w/ light smooth/resolved tannins; very long some strawberry/Grenache/earthy bit cedary/pencilly slight
Rhonish/smokey complex finish w/ modest smooth tannins; lots of strawberry/Grenache character but may be starting
to dry out a bit; lovely Rhone blend and near its peak. $70.00
_______________________
3. EdmundsStJohn LesCotesSauvages Calif RTW (14.3%; 39% Grenache/25% Syrah/31% Mourv/5% Carignan) Emeryville 1992:
Med.dark color w/ light bricking; very complex earthy/dusty some strawberry/Grenache/bit blackberry light cedary/
pencilly bit Rhonish/pungent complex beautiful nose; somewhat tart some Grenache/strawberry/blackberry fairly
earthy/dusty rather CdP-like/Rhonish balanced complex flavor w/ light bit gritty/drying tannins; very long/
lingering fairly earthy/dusty/CdP-like some strawberry/Grenache/blackberry balanced/smooth complex finish w/
light grainy tannins; shows the most earthy/dusty/CdP-like character of these three LCS; a beautiful drinkable
complex red. $65.00
_______________________
4. EdmundsStJohn LesCotesSauvages Calif RTW (13.7%; 42% Mourv/17% Grenache/17% Cinsault/16% Syrah/8% Carignan)
Emeryville 1994: Med.dark color w/ light bricking; strong strawberry/Grenache/blackberry slight plummy/licorice
slight pencilly/smokey bit Rhonish/roasted rather complex nose; bit tart strong blackberry/strawberry/plummy
slight licorice/pungent/Rhonish rather complex flavor w/ light blocky/angular tannins; very long/lingering
blackberry/Syrah/strawberry bit plummy/licorice slight roasted/espresso/Rhonish rather complex finish w/ light
blocky tannins; doesn't show as much plummy/Mourv character as I expected and seems more Syrah-like; lovely
complex red that should go another 3-6 yrs. $55.00
_______________________
5. EdmundsStJohn Syrah Calif (14.5%) Emeryville 1996: Med.dark color w/ light bricking; beautiful blackberry/Syrah
rather Rhonish/smokey/smoked meats very StJoseph-like slight peppery very complex nose; lightly tart strong blackberry/
Syrah/peppery bit smokey/smoked meats/Fr.roast coffee/pungent slight earthy very complex finish w/ light smooth
tannins; very long/lingering rather smokey/roasted/Rhonish/smokked meats/espresso some blackberry/Syrah/peppery
slight rustic/StJoseph-like finish w/ light smooth/gentle tannins; a classic fully-mature EdStJ Syrah that's
showing no signs of going over the hill; probably near or at its peak; a steal at $45.00
_______________________
6. EdmundsStJohn Syrah PeayVnyd/SonomaCnty (13.4%) 2001: Dark color w/ no bricking; very strong/youthful blackberry/
Syrah/boysenberry/ripe/spicy light black pepper some complex beautiful nose; rather tart/angular very classic
Calif/blackberry/Syrah slight peppery/spicy light earthy some complex flavor w/ ample ripe/bit rough tannins;
very long/lingering very strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/ripe light peppery/pungent some complex finish w/ ample
angular tannins; a classic Calif Syrah in character w/ loads of youthful fruit; still yrs to go; not as interesting
as the other two Syrahs because of its youth.
_______________________
7. EdmundsStJohn Syrah BassettiVnyd/SLO Cnty (13.7%) Berkeley 2001: Very dark/black color w/ no bricking; very intense
Rhonish/smokey/cracked black pepper some whole-cluster/Rhonish/roasted/smokey intense blackberry/Syrah/blueberry
very complex beautiful nose; rather hard/tannic intense black pepper/c-c Syrah/boysenberry/blackberry strong
smokey/smoked meats/espresso rather Hermitage-like very structured fairly tart complex flavor w/ ample hard tannins;
very long/lingering tart/structured intense black pepper/c-c Syrah very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah rather
Rhonish/graphite/smoked meats very slight bretty/horsecollar/funky complex finish w/ ample hard tannins;
incredibly youthful & yrs to go yet; a spectacular example of Calif Syrah. $90.00
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. A few months ago, Steve decided to sell off some of his library wines to help fund his next CD. Larry suggested
it might be fun to assemble a set and taste them around a dinner he'd organize. So Laura created a whiz-bang
meal and we tasted thru these 6 wines from Steve's library. Plus a few extras.
________________________
2. The Viognier was simply stunning. Seldom will you find a Calif Viog at 20 yrs in this good a shape. Of the three
LCS reds, my favorite was the '94 w/ the '92 right close behind. The '95 seemed to be showing a bit of old red
character, though it's still in fine shape. The Syrahs were, across the board, simply amazing, all very youthful.
I think this Edmunds guy is getting the hang of this winemaking thing.
________________________
3. These were all decanted (except the Viognier) immediately before serving. Larry reported that upon tasting the
next day, most of the reds had lost quite a bit & were on the tired side. Not too surprising given their age.
Tom