Didn't open a bottle while Andrea was out of town for the holidays, so when she asked for a Zinfandel the other night, I decided to go deep into the cellar and open an Edmunds St. John 1994 Amador County Zinfandel. This was one of our last bottles from Steve’s now years-ago library sale. At first pour, there was some old-cellar funk and a bit of VA; Andrea wrinkled her nose, but we agreed to be patient. She sipped on our backup bottle (more about that below) while I nursed an ounce of the ESJ through its awkward first half-hour, but after that, it came to life, and proved to be a lovely old Zin. The aromas were dark, leaning toward tar and anise, and the edges were worn down like the corners of a favorite chair; on the second night, it was even richer and rounder. A gorgeous sunset.
The backup wine was a Once & Future 2015 DCV Zinfandel, Teldeschi Vineyard, Frank's Block. I thought maybe with a decade of age this would have mellowed a bit, but it's still a shouty, all-caps monster: lots of deep, rich fruit, but also lots of vanilla, lots of tannin, lots of glycerine, lots of everything… except perceptible alcoholic heat, which is an impressive feat in itself, given that the wine is 15%. The contrast with the ESJ certainly sharpened this impression, but this seemed to me like the vinous equivalent of a modern, hyper-compressed audio recording, pushing the red zone all the time and tiring the palate. Not my favorite O&F.
