WTN: EdmundsStJohn DurellVnyd Syrah '95...(short/boring)

As I started to brine my pork chops ystrday afternoon, I decided to go ahead & crack open the btl I'd been eyeing for a week now:
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1. EdmundsStJohn DurellVnyd SonomaVlly Syrah (14.4%) 1995: Very dark color w/ slight bricking; rather earthy/dusty some light cedary/pencilly/old-Zin-like rather tired nose; tart/hollow/tinny/metallic dusty/no fruit slight cedary/pencilly/old-Zin flavor; tart/lean/hard/metallic earthy/dusty hollow finish w/ some tannins; very disappointing; just another tired/dried-out relic from the TomHill archives. Score: 74
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I was expecting a lot from this wine and was totally disappointed. Not even a glimpse of its former glories. Better pour it down the drain and find something younger w/ more life.
Pull out an EdStJ Calif Syrah '01 and stand it up to settle.

So I go about finishing up my afternoon chores: out to slop the hogs, go feed the chickens, combine the ripening wheat out on the back 40, castrate a few sheep, code up a new rebalance scheme to accelerate the inner iterations, call up ParisHilton to share with her some new discoveries about the Higg's Boson and its impact on Western Civilization...all the normal things a Kansas guy does with his time.

Came back in from chores, stuff the limeade-brined pork chops w/ rosemary gremalato and broil them in the oven & sit down to dine. Absentmindedly pour a glass of the:
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1. EdmundsStJohn DurellVnyd SonomaVlly Syrah (14.4%) 1995: Holy schmoley, this isn't the wine I tried three hrs ago. Very dark color w/ slight bricking; slight pencilly/cedary/old-Zin somewhat smokey/dusty/pungent rather green olive/quite Rhonish/some Graillot StJoseph-like perfumed slight blackberry/Syrah quite complex/Rhonish nose; tart rather pungent/green olive/licorice some Rhonish/roasted slight coffee/espresso/pungent very complex/Rhonish bit hard/dusty lovely flavor; med.long tart slight metallic/lean very complex green olive/Rhonish/roasted/espresso some earthy/dusty slight old-Zin/pencilly/dried-out finish w/ a slightly tannic bite; not a big/huge Syrah and starting to dry out but still a very attractive wine w/ a lot of Graillot-like/Rhonish character. Score: 90
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I was stunned by the difference in this wine. It went from a down-the-sink wine to something that was really good. Maybe a bit beyond its peak, but still a very pleasurable drink. Wound up drinking nearly 2/3'rds the btl it was soooo friggin' good.
The next morning, the wine was somewhat murky/brown and totally shot; hard/tannic and hardly anything left.
Tom

Tom,

I guess I’m a little confused here. Was the wine improved by the food, or not tasted with food either time?

I had a similar experience with a 1998 Hop Kiln Russian River Valley Zinfandel (Primitivo Vineyard) (15.5% ABV).By itself it was probably a few years past its best but with a beef pie it was transformed into an excellent wine. Not a 74 to 90 transformation but certainly a very noticeable difference.

Mike

Tom,
I guess I’m a little confused here. Was the wine improved by the food, or not tasted with food either time?
Mike

Mike,
It wasn't the food that did it. I tried it first before I tried the pork chop. Than after. Impressions were pretty similar. May the pig
reduced the tannins on the mouth a bit...but not by much.
Tom

I guess after Paris slapped you around, anything - even the hog slop - would drink well.

I've got a couple of 95 Durrell's sitting in the cellar under good storage conditions and I bet they're in better shape. One of these years I'll do my 1995 N. Rhone syrah restrospective and will open one.