WTN: ESJ rocks!

These two wines a revelation to me. These tasted natural and unmanipulated; they seemed to speak of the earth. Though not fruit-deficient, these aren't opulent or gobby wines. I wish I could see more such honest wines here! On several places on the internet, people whose tastes are close to mine have praised ESJs. This has caused huge expectations for me, and I am happy to say the wines lived up to them. These were opened at 13:00 for a small tasting. I took the remains home and drunk them with a Provencal type of beef stew (which is nice with Rhone reds) - it worked wonderfully with these wines. It is now nearing 20:00 and neither wine is showing signs of getting tired, even though the colours of both seemed to indicate fully mature wines.

• 1996 Edmunds St. John Les Côtes Sauvages "Fin de Siècle" - USA, California (6/8/2007)
  
  15% abv. S. Rhône blend. Healthy, yet aging colour. The nose is a little animal, earthy and elegantly aged. It has much dark sweet fruit despite the over-all outlook being that of a mature wine. There are some refreshing citrussy high tones also. The palate is gloriously sweet and mature but with nice structure - soft tannins and moderate acidity. I cannot believe the abv stated on the label. Excellent. Drinks beautifully now.
  
  S. Rhône isn't a favourite area with me because I rarely get along well with Grenache. It seems that those producers of CdP who use lots of Mourvèdre are the ones I do genuinely like. Considering how lovely this wine was, may I assume that this is a Mourvèdre- rather than Grenache-based blend? It certainly smelled like that to me.
  
• 1998 Edmunds St. John Syrah Durell Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County (6/8/2007)
  
  Sonoma Valley; 13,5% abv. Deep core, brownish rim - looks older than it smells. The scent is quite lovely: vegetal, dark toned, peppery yet sweet fruit. It isn't very N. Rhône-like but does seem like a cool climate wine. The palate has huge acidity, even a bit shrill, but lovely fruit also. Some tasters thought this a challenging wine because of the acidity. I loved it! Drinking well now, I'd be surprised if it doesn't age gracefully for a couple years more.

Posted from CellarTracker

That's why we love him.

Glad to see ESJ has gone international

Last night I opened a bottle of 2002 "The Shadow." Another winner. I just love ESJ!

Steve, do you have an official fan club for all your groupies?

Steve, do you have an official fan club for all your groupies?

I believe he does. They're officially known as "oenoflatulators" or something like that. Maybe I better check the ESJ website to be sure I have that right.
BP

Otto,
Congratulations..you've crossed over to our side! Once hooked, you'll have an ESJ jones for life! I currently have 4 cases of California wine, all Steve's, and no other.
As for the fan club, I assumed I was the president, but will settle for ESJ Mistress..er..no..Madame..wait..make that Siren.

Cheers!
JuliaB

Otto,
Congratulations..you've crossed over to our side! Once hooked, you'll have an ESJ jones for life!

That's bad news. No importer here, so it seems like these will be the only ESJs I'll ever get.

:( That's bad news. No importer here, so it seems like these will be the only ESJs I'll ever get.

You'll just have to come over to our side of the pond, Otto!

[
You'll just have to come over to our side of the pond, Otto!

Cynthia,
Mum's the word that I make deliveries of EdStJ!!!
Glad you liked TheShadow. It's only going to get better I think.
Tom