Over the last couple of weeks, we've opened a few new releases from Edmunds St. John.
The first was the 2018 Fairplay Riesling "Bone-Dry", which I noted in a response to Tom a while back. Opened this first because it was intriguingly unlikely for a winemaker so associated with Rhône varieties. It was, at first taste, very tightly wound and laser-sharp, with a lot of lime/citrus zest and pith as well as chalky minerality. With time it definitely fleshed out and took on some weight, relatively speaking; the zest became more like curd, for example. It still seems unlikely -- my metaphor was "like looking out the north-facing window of a south-facing house," thinking of the differences between warm and cool light -- but it's really good, and I also think it has the capacity to age; the wines it reminded me of most were young Grosset Polish Hill and Mesh Rieslings from Australia. Plus, it was preposterously inexpensive at $15.00.
Next up was the 2019 El Dorado County Gamay Noir Rosé, "Bone-Jolly," which I'd initially thought we would try as part of a 3-year vertical of the 2017, 2018, and 2019, but then I thought the better of having three bottles of wine open for two people trapped in the house, and on the edge of mild depression, by World Events. Very pale salmon color, this is a fastball down the middle, with a really nice balance between ripe, round fruit, zippiness, and a touch of drying herbaceousness on the finish. I'll hold on to our one remaining 2018 (and a bunch of 2017) until we can open all three vintages with some friends, Dionysus willing, on the screen porch this summer.
Finally, last night, the first 2015 El Dorado County Syrah, "North Canyon Road" from the Fenaughty (65%) and Barsotti Ranch (35%) vineyards. All the Syrah we've been drinking lately has been more floral than feral (mainly because of my continuing love affair with the exuberant Faury St. Joseph I've been buying from Cellar d'Or), so this is a nice change of pace: medium-bodied, with red and blue fruit, framed by beef jerky and spice. Delicious, and pretty open now. In fact, I didn't sense a ton of extra structure to resolve, which, from producers who try to leverage ageworthiness out of excess, might mean "drink now," but there's enough balance and vibrancy that here I'm not going to hurry.
There was also a Az. Agr. Frank Cornelissen 2018 Rosso, IGT Terre Siciliane, "Susucaru," which was a bit darker in flavor (not color) than the 2017, more dominated by earth and licorice, but with the same energy that makes this wine so much fun to drink every year.
Beyond that, the bottles... like the days, and the Zoom meetings... begin to blur into each other.
