WTN: ESJ Syrah '96, Matagrano Sangiovese '97, WF '98

Since last week I had so many tastings, I was going to have a dry weekend. But we had quite a bit of last yesterday's beef stew left over and a surprise guest so we opened up two more ESJs. The Syrah paired just perfectly with the beef stew (which had just improved overnight in the fridge). The Sangio paired well also, but I again have to confess that I don't think I understand the grape. These two wines, though still tasting unmanipulated and natural, do taste more opulent than yesterday's two wines (Côtes Sauvages '96 and Durell Syrah '98). I am still a fan.

But I have to ask, and I hope that Steve Edmunds answers: are these abv's true that I have quoted? Les Côtes Sauvages '96 says 15%, Durell Syrah '98 says 13,5%, Syrah '96 says 14,5% and Matagrano Sangio '97 says 15,5% but none seem so high.

• 1996 Edmunds St. John Syrah - USA, California (6/9/2007)
  Still looks young with a deep core and only a slight bright red rim. The nose is opulent and fruity with black olives and is very typical for Syrah (not Shiraz). The palate is full bodied with lots of sweet fruit, refreshing but not high acidity, and some delightful savoury notes. Long and moreish. 14,5% abv on the label, but it isn't noticable otherwise than that the third glass isn't going down easily.
• 1997 Edmunds St. John Sangiovese Matagrano - USA, California, Sierra Foothills (6/9/2007)
  Cherry red. The nose smells like peanuts. There is also sandalwood and some sweet red toned fruit, but peanut is to the fore. It is recognisably Sangiovese. The palate is full bodied, opulently fruity, with some nice red toned fruit. The label says 15,5% abv and it doesn't seem that high, but I still do sense a bit of heat on the aftertaste. This is a very nice wine, but I have rarely loved Italian Sangiovese, and I have to admit that this is more an intellectual than a hedonistic pleasure for me.

Posted from CellarTracker

And tonight: ESJ Syrah "Wylie-Fenaughty" 1998 El Dorado County 14% ?€

A delight once again - not much of a surprise, I guess. A very savoury nose, with much cool climate or year aromatics: olive, red toned fruit, earth and minerals. Very nice nose - but was '98 a cool year or is El Dorado Couty a cool climate? The palate has lovely acidity and enough fruit to counter it. It is savoury and mineral and very moreish. Like in the '98 Durell Syrah, there is a slight vinegar-note to it which I don't mind at all but which might be an issue for some drinkers. I love this. Alas, it was my only bottle.

-O-

The wine-growing part of El Dorado County is in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, at an altitude of roughly 1000 - 2000 feet. It has hot days and cool nights during most of the growing season, which starts a few weeks later than Napa and Sonoma counties.

Actually, all the El Dorado grapes I use come from elevations ranging from 2,800 feet to 3,400 feet, where it's rather cooler.

Actually, all the El Dorado grapes I use come from elevations ranging from 2,800 feet to 3,400 feet, where it's rather cooler.

Thanks for that info! So c.850-1036m if I did my conversion correctly - which would explain the cool climate aromatics for sure. But I am also interested in how the weather was in '98? And also what Wylie-Fenaughty stands for?

-O-

'98 was definitely cold and late.
Wylie and Fenaughty are the vineyard owners' names. The vineyards are about 10 miles apart, both at 2800 feet elevation, both farmed by the same person. Wylie is on a rocky mountain-top with very little soil, and little moisture-retaining capacity. It tends to ripen earlier for that reason, and produces, in most years a dark, powerful, smoky wine. Fenaughty is on volcanic clay-loam, on a north-facing slope, ripens two to four weeks after Wylie, and makes a prettier, finer wine, with greater perfume.

'98 was definitely cold and late.
Wylie and Fenaughty are the vineyard owners' names. The vineyards are about 10 miles apart, both at 2800 feet elevation, both farmed by the same person. Wylie is on a rocky mountain-top with very little soil, and little moisture-retaining capacity. It tends to ripen earlier for that reason, and produces, in most years a dark, powerful, smoky wine. Fenaughty is on volcanic clay-loam, on a north-facing slope, ripens two to four weeks after Wylie, and makes a prettier, finer wine, with greater perfume.

It's amazing how the same grapes grown in nearby areas can have such different maturing cycles. Back in the 60s and 70s the bigger wineries in the Finger Lakes were reluctant to purchase grapes from Niagara County, along Lake Ontario, as they all ripened 2 weeks later and it made it difficult for them to incorporate them into the grapes harvested off Lake Erie or the Finger Lakes.