Cracked this orphan last night to go w/ my Tolouse sausage in Chacroute:
1. EdmundsStJohn Syrah FenaughtyVnyd/ElDoradoCnty (13.1%; www.EdmundsStJohn.com)Thumbnail Moonlight/Fairplay 2011: Very dark color; very strong quite Rhonish/pungent/graphite/burning steel wool (Grade 000) some blackberry/Syrah/blueberry/Cornas-like rather earthy/ElD/mushroomy bit rustic/roasted quite complex nose; quite tart/tangy bit lean/hard some blackberry/peppery/Syrah/blueberry quite pungent/Rhonish/roasted very Cornas-like/rustic rather ElD/earthy/truffly some pungent/burning steel wool/MrMatthews welding shop quite complex/Rhonish flavor w/ modest rough tannins; very long/lingering rather tart/tangy/angular some blackberry/Syrah/peppery rather Rhonish/roasted/pungent/burning metal fairly earthy/ElD/mushroomy/earthy quite complex/Rhonish finish w/ ample rough tannins; still needs more age; a very atypical Calif Syrah; speaks strongly of ElDCnty and much like a Cornas in the rustic character; beautiful if exotic Syrah. $30.50
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. When I first opened this wine, I took an instant dislike to it. Rather reductive and strong burning metal/pungent aromatics and rather hard/acidic on the palate. But after about 30 minutes, it really started to evolve into something quite unique. As I drank further into the btl, it suddenly struck me that I was drinking an EricTexier Cornas, which usually has a tangy/bracing acidity. I've always had a special place in my heart for Eric's wines. He trained & worked as a nuclear engineer for some ten yrs afore bagging it and going on to success as a winemaker. Some of us were not smart enough to make that choice and continued to plod along in our nuclear engineering career.
Tom
