TN: '97 ESJ Fenaughty Syrah

L

Larry Stein

Larry Stein
This was one of those wines that elicited several WTF?! moments.

I'm trying to think when I've had any bottle of wine act like this one.

On opening and probably for a good 20-30 min., this wine was DOA. Acid, oxidation and no fruit. After that time period, Sandi and I needed something to drink for dinner so I opened another bottle.

After dinner (an hour later or so), I poured a little more. What? It showed some sweet fruit notes, but that was buried underneath some tannins that had made an appearance and it still had too much acid. Somewhere in the 2 to 2 1/2 hour time frame, the wine was all there. It was still a bit rustic, but it totally showed itself as being mature Syrah. Was it great? No, but it was good. It would've gone well with our salmon, but I don't know if it would stand up to a strongly-seasoned meat dish. All in all, it was kind of a delicate flower from a fruit stand point.

I'm going to drink my other bottle much sooner than later. If that bottle acts the same way after being opened, decanting will be a must.

Knowing how these things work, I fully expect that I will have a completely different experience with my other bottle.
 
originally posted by Larry Stein:
TN: '97 ESJ Fenaughty SyrahThis was one of those wines that elicited several WTF?! moments.

I'm trying to think when I've had any bottle of wine act like this one.

On opening and probably for a good 20-30 min., this wine was DOA. Acid, oxidation and no fruit. After that time period, Sandi and I needed something to drink for dinner so I opened another bottle.

After dinner (an hour later or so), I poured a little more. What? It showed some sweet fruit notes, but that was buried underneath some tannins that had made an appearance and it still had too much acid. Somewhere in the 2 to 2 1/2 hour time frame, the wine was all there. It was still a bit rustic, but it totally showed itself as being mature Syrah. Was it great? No, but it was good. It would've gone well with our salmon, but I don't know if it would stand up to a strongly-seasoned meat dish. All in all, it was kind of a delicate flower from a fruit stand point.

I'm going to drink my other bottle much sooner than later. If that bottle acts the same way after being opened, decanting will be a must.

Knowing how these things work, I fully expect that I will have a completely different experience with my other bottle.
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If the other one is your last bottle, it will surely be splendid and youthful, hinting at the excellence to come. At least that's the way it always seems to work for me.
 
Sandi and I needed something to drink for dinner so I opened another bottle...Somewhere in the 2 to 2 1/2 hour time frame, the wine was all there.
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I love it when that happens. It gives me an excuse to have two bottles going at once!

What was the other wine?

Otherwise, sounds interesting, and will be curious to see how the next bottle shows.
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
Sandi and I needed something to drink for dinner so I opened another bottle...Somewhere in the 2 to 2 1/2 hour time frame, the wine was all there.
Click to expand...

I love it when that happens. It gives me an excuse to have two bottles going at once!

What was the other wine?

Otherwise, sounds interesting, and will be curious to see how the next bottle shows.
Click to expand...

I dunno. I think Steve's response to me was a bit more apt: "That sounds frightening."

The other bottle was '09 L'Ancien, Brun. Plastic cork so no point in cellaring it.
 
Thanks for the note. I've got one bottle of that from Steve's recent library release, sounds like it'll certainly be interesting to check into...
 
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