CWD: Copious Edmunds St. John

D

David M. Bueker

David M. Bueker
Saturday afternoon & evening a group gathered to sample an incredibly wide array of Edmunds St. John wines. From whites through red blends and varietal syrahs, we traversed the range of what Steve Edmunds does with a whole range of grapes and vineyard sites.

We started with two white wines:

2008 Edmunds St John Heart of Gold (Paso Robles)
This was the second vintage of the HoG, and I found it a better wine than its 2007 predecessor. Its quite fruity (pear, nectarine), and has a touch of back end creaminess that buffers the wine from being too austere on the finish.

2004 Edmunds St John Rousanne Tablas Creek Vineyard (Paso Robles)
This was minerally but overall quite austere compared to the HoG. I also found a bit of back end heat.

2009 Edmunds St John Bone-Jolly Gamay Noir Rose Witters Vineyard (El Dorado County)
Packed with berry fruit and just a heck of a lot of fun to drink.

2008 Edmunds St John Bone-Jolly Gamay Noir Witters Vineyard (El Dorado County)
Slightly spritzy and very linear with lots of bright raspberry fruit. The 2007 version of this was so delicious for me last week. Perhaps this needs time to settle down a bit more, but right now its showing rather simple.

2007 Edmunds St John Gamay Noir Porphyry Barsotti Ranch (El Dorado County)
Light spice, deep fruit and a touch of finishing minerality, with a finish that went on and on. Delicious! This was the most complete of the 3 Gamay wines we tried. Not coincidentally this was also the only one finished under cork (DIAM). I am an ardent defender of screw caps, but the clear fact that this bottling was so much more expressive, complete & longer on the finish put some serious doubt in my mind.

2008 Edmunds St John Gamay Noir Porphyry Barsotti Ranch (El Dorado County)
Candied berries and an obvious touch of reduction (burnt rubber). Disappointing after the prior wine. There was no real way to measure up though, as the 2007 was really good.

1999 Edmunds St John Sangiovese Matagrano Vineyard (Sierra Foothills)
Im not sure what was going on here. There was some Sangiovese typicity in there, but it was obscured by a glue-like element that was unpleasant. The good elements came out more with air, but even 2 hours later (I re-tasted much to Rahsaans surprise) it was still somewhat obscured, though better than when first opened. Not sure what to do with this wine other than bury my last bottle & hope for the best.

So there had been a few gems so far (Rose, 2007 Porphyry), but things were about to really ramp up!

Of course we started the red blend portion of the evening with our only corked bottle, the 2005 Rocks and Gravel. This was a real shame as the wine is so good when its sound, but we did not lack for other wines.

It quickly got better!

2006 Edmunds St John Old Black Magic (Sonoma County)
Very ripe and fruity. There may have been a touch of heat on the back end, but it went away quickly, leaving a very silky, much too easy to drink blend of Syrah and Grenache. This was screw capped as well, but whether through decanting (most of the reds were decanted) or time in the glass it did not display the same character that the capped Gamays did. I liked this very much.

2003 Edmunds St John Shell & Bone Rozet Vineyard (Paso Robles)
Initially this was a bit stunted, but the more air it got the better it got. It was easy to see when John Gilman liked a wine as he would have to come back for a re-pour as he had finished his glass without finishing his note on the wine. It happened with all 3 of the red blends right in a row. Theres some development here, with earthy/leathery character merging with the still copious fruit. I like the balance here, but this needs more cellar time to totally blossom like the next wine.

2001 Edmunds St John Los Robles Viejos Rozet Vineyard (Paso Robles)
Los Robles Viejos was the old name for Shell & Bone, and this wine showed like gorgeous, old school Chateauneuf du Pape. Wow was this good. Earthy, slightly funky (a seasoning hit of brett perhaps?) & still full of fruit, this was the most complete wine of the evening so far, and ever so delicious. This was also the first (and perhaps only due to the huge amount of wine we had) decanter to be emptied. People kept going back to it. Sadly this was my last bottle, but the 2003 S&B showed similar promise. This was my personal favorite wine of the event.

Onward to Syrah!

2002 Edmunds St John Syrah The Shadow (California)
Still showing very well. Its the lightest of the reds, but shows pepper and red fruit. Its gentle and quite drinkable, and remains a great value for the $13 or so that was asked for it back in the day.

2008 Edmunds St John Syrah Cuvee Fairbairn (Mendocino County)
Wow is this young. After the few older wines this is a bit of a shock to the system. Slightly smoky, very meaty on the back end, but it needs to fill out a bit in the mid-palate. I love that smoky/meaty finish though. Put it away for a while.

2005 Edmunds St John Syrah Parmelee Hill (Sonoma County)
Time, time, time. This is very monolithic right now. Lots of promise with all that black fruit, but its a dark room right now. I will keep my hands off for a long time.

2001 Edmunds St John Syrah Wylie-Fenaughty (El Dorado County)
2003 Edmunds St John Syrah Wylie-Fenaughty (El Dorado County)
2005 Edmunds St John Syrah Wylie-Fenaughty (El Dorado County)
I group these wines together for a single note as they showed a clear vineyard and varietal signature that was so blatantly obvious that it has to be mentioned. Each was formed around a core of herbal/meaty/earthy elements that was right there for the smelling/tasting in all of the 3 wines. The 2001 was certainly the most developed, and I am going to be drinking more of that wine soon. Its too good to miss now. The 2003 is still finding its way, and reminded us all of the 2003 Shell & Bone in that both seems to be grumpy adolescents that need coaxing or time. The 2005 was just a revelation with so much fruit allied to that herbal/meaty/earthy core that it would be hard to not suck down magnums of the stuff right now. The 2005 was my second favorite wine of the event, but these were all so good.

2001 Edmunds St. John Syrah Bassetti Vineyard (San Luis Obispo County)
2003 Edmunds St. John Syrah Bassetti Vineyard (San Luis Obispo County)
2005 Edmunds St. John Syrah Bassetti Vineyard (San Luis Obispo County)
Once again there was a clear resemblance with these 3 wines. They were all much more structured & brooding that their Wylie-Fenaughty counterparts, and they lacked that herbal/earthy element that made the W-F wines just so amazing. That said these were all very good if (with perhaps the exception of the 2001) in need of a good bit more cellar time. This is the black fruit and bramble end of the spectrum. I really liked the development of the 2001, as it had opened up more, with additional bottle age character, but it just did not sing to me the way the Wylie-Fenaughty wines did. The 2003 and 2005 were big, brooding, monolithic and in need of much time.

1994 Edmunds St. John Syrah Durell Vineyard (Sonoma County)
1997 Edmunds St. John Syrah Durell Vineyard (Sonoma County)
1999 Edmunds St. John Syrah Durell Vineyard (Sonoma County)
Can someone please get Steve some Syrah from Durell again! Along with the Wylie-Fenaughty wines, the Durell showed a distinctive site similarity and an expressiveness that was just captivating. Im not sure any of these were really at peak yet, but the 94 and 97 were amazingly good, with plenty of dark fruit still there to accompany a rich, deep earth element. Again they did not have the herbal complexity of the Wylie-Fenaughty wines (now clearly my favorite Syrah site for Steve), but they were so well balanced, and showed so much Syrah meatiness to go along with the fruit that it was hard to slight them except for a somewhat acidic bite in the 99.

There was also a bottle of 1988 Edmunds St. John Zinfandel Amaronese, which I found to have a very raisined/volatile character that I did not much care for.

Overall this was an amazing success for Steves wines. There were perhaps only 5 or so stunners, but the overall quality level was extremely high, the wines so incredibly drinkable that I am only more convinced to buy the wines whenever and wherever they are available.

Thanks to John Gilman and his wife Marie-France for hosting us (and feeding us!), The real Jay Miller for organizing, Salil for spitting & driving and to all the other participants (Dale Williams, Jeff Grossman, Rahsaan Maxwell) for sharing their ESJ wines. This was a rare opportunity not to be missed.

Finally bravo to Steve Edmunds! You are one heck of a winemaker.
 
Thanks for the very useful notes on what was obviously a terrific event (inc. the participants). I have an 05 Parmalee that I was going to open one of these days but your note made me put it away. From your notes, would it be accurate to deduce that it's the most backward of Steve's 2005 Syrahs?
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa: I have an 05 Parmalee that I was going to open one of these days but your note made me put it away. From your notes, would it be accurate to deduce that it's the most backward of Steve's 2005 Syrahs?
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Not at all!

I would say it is the most forward and is definitely worth opening now unless you know that you prefer it with more age.

The 05 Bassetti is probably the most backward but is still worth opening to see if you like it.

I thought the Parmelee was drinking pretty well, even if young it was open and friendly and fun.
 
Overall, I pretty much agree with David although am not sure I would put the Robles Viejos as my top wine, although maybe in the top trio with the 94 Durell and 05 W-F. For personal reasons, I probably enjoyed the 94 Durell the most, if only because I have the least experience with the Durell wines and in that sense they are the 'newest'/most intriguing to taste.

I'm not sure I would say the W-F is more 'complex' than Durell, although maybe because it had all those meaty/herbal notes going on. But the texture of the Durell was so silky and lovely and I don't know if the W-F will get to that same place with age? Regardless, I'm sure it will get someplace delicious.

Also, am not sure I would call the Parmelee 'monolithic' but that may just a semantic issue. It was clearly young but much friendlier than the 08 syrah and texture-wise even friendlier than the 05 W-F (although the nose/flavors on the 05 W-F were AMAZING and speak of great future development). If I had more bottles I would be drinking that Parmelee now to get my ESJ syrah fix while waiting for the other stuff to age.

But, am happy to have 05 W-F and Bassetti and I only hope I can save them long enough to let them blossom!
 
I disagree with part of Rahsaan's statement, but not all of it. I agree that the '05 Bassetti was the most backward, but I found the '05 Wylie-Fenuahgty the most open/friendly of the '05s. Perhaps "chunky" would be a better word for the Parmelee rather than monolithic. I still think it needs lots of time though.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Thanks for the very useful notes on what was obviously a terrific event (inc. the participants). I have an 05 Parmalee that I was going to open one of these days but your note made me put it away. From your notes, would it be accurate to deduce that it's the most backward of Steve's 2005 Syrahs?
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Personally, I'd say the Basetti might win that title but the Parmalee is in the running.

This is a wine I loved on release, then which went through a very awkward phase about a year later when Chris opened a bottle at Il Corso, and is now back in balance but very restrained. So I'd say it's starting to come together but really needs some years (5 or so?) to express itself.
 
David, splendid notes, thank you. I agree with so much of what you say that I will just add a few personal tidbits:

- The "Heart of Gold" also hinted a bit of waxiness that reminded me of chenin.

- I was, perhaps, alone in this but I preferred the 08 Bone-Jolly to the 07 Porphyry. I thought the 08 was more vivid and juicier while the 07 came off a bit musty/tinny.

- Ah, those syrahs! I approved of the analogy that the Wylies are Cote-Rotie to the Bassettis' Hermitage. I also was intrigued by Rahsaan's later comment that there was no N Rhone analogue for the Durrell, that we were really tasting something uniquely of the place.

- A quote from someone on the 05 Wylie: "I never want to stop drinking this wine"

- A quote from someone on the 88 Amaronese: "You know that old-Burgundy-gone-bad cabbage smell?"

- There was some talk at the table that the 03 Wylie might have been scalped. The assembled noses could not conclusively find TCA. But I think all three of the 03 wines showed similarly (looser, fruitier, not open in depth) so maybe it's just how the vintage was.

- There was also some talk at the table about whether the 99 Durrell was lifted.

- I think the 01 Bassetti was definitely the funkiest of the big syrah cuvees. It's the only one with noticeable brett. It's also the one that best cooperated with the food. (I am reminded how some French cheeses are very stinky to smell but then sweet to eat.)
 
An additional comment. I just opened the '07 Old Black Magic, and it is fully up to the standard of the other top Rhone variety blends from yesterday. It's also under a DIAM cork by the way. Make of that what you will.
 
That would probably be more interesting than the original. At least the apocalypse would have a groovy soundtrack.
 
I opened '03 W-F for Sandi's 60th birthday dinner last night. I felt like I was having the triple-meat special: the beef loin on my plate, and the bacon and beefy notes in the Syrah. Truly lovely aromatics and showing some secondary notes on the palate. Terrific balance. Not surprisingly, this needs more cellaring, but by no means was it infanticide to open this.

I had a bottle of '01 LRV as a back-up. Still have 3 btls. so I'm quite happy on its showing.

I just picked up a mixed case plus of Steve's newly-released reds. The only one I haven't tried is the '08 Porphyry. Love the '07 OBM and '08 Fairbourn.

Very happy to have a mixed case of the three '05 Syrahs.

The two wines I own that I wish had been in your event are '05 Redneck 101 and '01 Peay Vnyd. Syrah. I only have 2 btls. of the latter so I'm hesistant on opening one.

I have no idea when I'll open my magnum of '95 Durell. I'm thinking even my 60th birthday (4 years from now) might be too soon!

What a fun event! Great notes, David.
 
Larry,

I opened a '95 Durell about a month or so ago with Salil, Thor & Theresa. It needs lots more time.

I wish I had remembered the Redneck 101. I didn't think of it until we were already at the tasting. It would have been good to include it.
 
originally posted by David M. Bueker:
2002 Edmunds St John Syrah The Shadow (California)
Still showing very well. Its the lightest of the reds, but shows pepper and red fruit. Its gentle and quite drinkable, and remains a great value for the $13 or so that was asked for it back in the day.
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God, I miss that wine! Wish it wasn't so damn delicious young!
 
originally posted by John McIlwain:
originally posted by David M. Bueker:
2002 Edmunds St John Syrah The Shadow (California)
Still showing very well. Its the lightest of the reds, but shows pepper and red fruit. Its gentle and quite drinkable, and remains a great value for the $13 or so that was asked for it back in the day.
Click to expand...

God, I miss that wine! Wish it wasn't so damn delicious young!
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I still have 5 of those. Sounds like I should put one at the top of the drinking queue.
 
originally posted by Larry Stein: Sounds like I should put one at the top of the drinking queue.
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No rush. Didn't seem like it would be going anywhere anytime soon (but we could have predicted that without opening the bottle).

That said, it was fun to drink and certainly worth drinking if you're in the mood. Unlike a couple of years ago when the wines seemed awkward.
 
originally posted by Larry Stein:

The two wines I own that I wish had been in your event are '05 Redneck 101 and '01 Peay Vnyd. Syrah. I only have 2 btls. of the latter so I'm hesistant on opening one.
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I have a stash of the Peay - about a month ago, it was delicious after some initial heat blew off. Still pretty primary - no hurry really.
 
David, Jeff, Rahsaan,
Thanks so much for your descriptions of these wines. With Dale's notes elsewhere, it amounts to a very complete picture of the wines. Having had most of these wines, I find myself nodding in agreement with most of the assessments. I am especially happy about the '01 LRV, as I have some of this in the cellar. I'm also very happy to have gone long on the '05 W-F.

My only regret is that I couldn't join you guys for this evening,
Mark Lipton
 
sounds great, very sorry to have missed the tasting.
It is a rare occasion when Glamis-on-Hudson beckons, and I don't answer the call.
 
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