WTN: 2004 Shell and Bone (!)

Once upon a time, I bought a bunch of Edmunds St. John 2004 Paso Robles White Wine, "Shell and Bone," a blend of Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussane. Then I bought a bunch more. Time passed; some of it was consumed and enjoyed -- but somehow, not one but five bottles remained squirreled away. (This is weird, since I rarely buy more than four of anything.) Tonight, opened the first of these, hopeful but not optimistic. Don't know what the next one will be like, but this bottle was really good. At first, the color was surprisingly light, but there was just nothing happening on the palate at all, only a touch of bitterness on the finish. But we waited. Within half an hour, the wine darkened from pale straw to light gold, and the wine opened up to reveal a pleasing mix of tree fruit, wax, and a little light honey, with good vibrancy and without any sense of tiredness or decay. Worked beautifully with a late-summer corn, tomato, and marjoram pasta.

Worked beautifully with a late-summer corn, tomato, and marjoram pasta.

Sounds great, and I can see the match going very well.

Generally white Rhone varieties are in the bottom 20th percentile of my wine fandom, so I was always surprised hoe much I liked the Shell and Bones (and its successor, Heart of Gold which had Grenache blanc). But never thought of aging. Bravo!

The secret, from my perspective, to the Heart of Gold, was Vermentino, and Grenache Blanc, fermented cold in stainless and bottled early, no oak. (The Shell and Bone was fermented in old puncheons, and spent seven or eight months on lees, before bottling. And included only Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne.) Freshness is key.

Looks like I have a bottle of Heart of Gold lingering in the cellar, too (though only 12 years old rather than 22, and under screwcap, IIRC? Or am I wrong about that?) -- time to pull that out!

Haven't had that for a long time, but I recall liking it quite a bit; will be interested to see how it's doing (or not)

Stay tuned!