That Old Black Magic has me wondering..

I just arrived home with my mixed case of ESJ wines (one of the few benefits of living in Ohio..they are available here). I have 6 Bone-Jolly 08..I know what to do with those: drink now, drink often. But the other half case is "That Old Black Magic". What is the prevailing wisdom..drink now? Let it continue to develop it's mystical magic for ..?

Thanks in advance,
JuliaB

Send me half the case and I'll conduct a study for you.

[James Roscoe]

Damn Chef, you beat me to it! We are so selfless in the pursuit of scientific research!

[Robin Garr]

I just arrived home with my mixed case of ESJ wines (one of the few benefits of living in Ohio..they are available here). I have 6 Bone-Jolly 08..I know what to do with those: drink now, drink often. But the other half case is "That Old Black Magic". What is the prevailing wisdom..drink now? Let it continue to develop it's mystical magic for ..?

We opened That Old Black Magic (06) last night, JB, and it's certainly drinking beautifully. Lots of structure, and there are some tannins there, but it's food-friendly. The Stelvin and all that Wylie and Fenaughty fruit make me think it'll last and last, but I'm wondering what the story is, and whether Steve's bottling it under a proprietary title like that means it's meant to guzzle while we wait for the regular Wylie-Fenaughty to come around. Hope Steve will jump in and inform us.

The 08 Bone-Jolly Rosé is mighty fine, but you already knew this.

Send me half the case and I'll conduct a study for you.

Damn Chef, you beat me to it! We are so selfless in the pursuit of scientific research!

You two are nothing if not chivalrous!
(Well, you're something else..but we won't go into that here).


JB

We opened That Old Black Magic (06) last night, JB, and it's certainly drinking beautifully. Lots of structure, and there are some tannins there, but it's food-friendly. The Stelvin and all that Wylie and Fenaughty fruit make me think it'll last and last, but I'm wondering what the story is, and whether Steve's bottling it under a proprietary title like that means it's meant to guzzle while we wait for the regular Wylie-Fenaughty to come around. Hope Steve will jump in and inform us.

The 08 Bone-Jolly Rosé is mighty fine, but you already knew this.

Ah, thanks Robin, sounds like another notch on my love-belt for ESJ. May I ask what food you paired it with? I planned to open the trial bottle this weekend.

JuliaB

[Robin Garr]

Ah, thanks Robin, sounds like another notch on my love-belt for ESJ. May I ask what food you paired it with? I planned to open the trial bottle this weekend.

JB, we finished it over two nights, just leaving the re-capped half-bottle on the counter overnight with no real change in character that I could discern in the first 24 hours.

As you'd expect of Steve, it's not a spoofulated blockbuster, but at 14.3% alcohol it's a hefty boy, and needs robust foods with plenty of flavors.

First night: Natural local grass-fed beef from Dreamcatcher Farm turned into a sort of Barbacoa with ground New Mexico chiles, cumin, onions and cilantro, served over baked potatoes rather than tortillas. Hey, you go with what you got.

Second night: natural, pasture-raised pork chop pan-seared with onions, then braised with Asian flavors; served with rice and fresh spinach from the garden.

That Old Black Magic also includes Grenache from Fenaughty Vineyard, and Grenache and Syrah from Eaglepoint Ranch. I co-fermented Grenache and Syrah from Fenaughty, Grenache and Syrah from Eaglepoint, And Syrah and Syrah from Wylie and Fenaughty. Not originally intending to blend, but in the Summer of '07 I did a trial blend using all the three lots, and the result seemed more dynamic and compelling than any of the separate lots, and certainly seemed to be greater than the sum of the parts. Magic! The wine seems to me to be very tightly wound, yet not at all rough. There's a full page of details on the ESJ website.
Julia, I think you'll really enjoy the '08 pink. And I think you'll find the '07 red steamy and x-rated!

and its aging potential?

Just guessing, I'd say six to ten years. Three or four ought to be sufficient for it to loosen up nicely.

[David M. Bueker]

Do a search & you'll find a note I put up a few weeks ago. It's great stuff that was better on night two.

JB, we finished it over two nights, just leaving the re-capped half-bottle on the counter overnight with no real change in character that I could discern in the first 24 hours.

As you'd expect of Steve, it's not a spoofulated blockbuster, but at 14.3% alcohol it's a hefty boy, and needs robust foods with plenty of flavors.

First night: Natural local grass-fed beef from Dreamcatcher Farm turned into a sort of Barbacoa with ground New Mexico chiles, cumin, onions and cilantro, served over baked potatoes rather than tortillas. Hey, you go with what you got.

Second night: natural, pasture-raised pork chop pan-seared with onions, then braised with Asian flavors; served with rice and fresh spinach from the garden.

Those dishes sound mighty tasty to me. I was thinking of just a nice rare steak right off the grill, topped with some fresh sauteed morels my husband picked recently. Makes me hungry just to think of it.

Julia, I think you'll really enjoy the '08 pink. And I think you'll find the '07 red steamy and x-rated!

Mmm just the way I like 'em!

Thanks, Steve!
JB

David, thanks, I did read your post before I posted this, and I read Steve's website about it..both siren songs to me! My query, as Bob Hower put more succinctly, was about the aging potential.

"Steve Edmunds"]Just guessing, I'd say six to ten years. Three or four ought to be sufficient for it to loosen up nicely

Now, my conundrum..if it is drinking so well now, but will hold for possibly 10 years, have I purchased enough?

JB