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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2017 and 2029 (based on 4 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 89.4 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 25 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Rieslingfan on 3/27/2024: Happy retirement Steve!
This wine will outlive both of us, and I am a lot younger than you. It’s only now starting to maybe consider thinking about possibly, perhaps at some point turning the corner toward potentially maturing. There’s still so much dark fruit, but it’s not thick or glossy. Instead it’s dryly sweet, and showing just a touch of a creamy edge that creates a mid-palate richness that maybe, sort of, might just remind me of some of those Durell Syrahs that had so much depth and character. This wine isn’t there yet, and zi have no idea if or when it ever will be, but there’s a ton of potential that I can only hope I live long enough to see fulfilled. (255 views) | | | Tasted by cweiss on 10/30/2023: My third and last bottle, and still too much Chericol to make it pleasurable. Love Steve Edmunds, generally like his wines a lot, but not this one. (152 views) | | | Tasted by MLipton on 5/19/2022: To my mind, a totally mature Syrah: smooth tannins, green olive and licorice in the nose, medium body with balancing acidity. For me, there is no reason to wait unless you want geriatric wine. (424 views) | | | Tasted by cweiss on 10/23/2020: I think this was mildly corked, but even despite that there was an unappealing cough syrup quality, also noted in a previous sound bottle years ago. I'm generally a big ESJ fan. (532 views) | | | Tasted by blanquito on 6/6/2020: Going strong. Lavender, sweet tarts, blueberries, blackberry zinger tea with some savory and saison notes. Delightful, mature, silky, quite bright. Not much complexity, but otherwise excellent. (642 views) | | | Tasted by RajivAyyangar on 8/21/2019 flawed bottle: Corked (813 views) | | | Tasted by blanquito on 4/18/2017 & rated 92 points: A fresh, lovely bottle. This syrah has a real hammy note with some nice spiceness. The palate is integrated and smooth with a good finish. Low alcohol, good fruit, good acidity, not really a hair out of place. My only quibble is there's a softness on the palate that I get on some ESJ wines that make them seem low structure, but I really didn't care last night. It doesn't really taste like a French wine, but it's pretty unique for the New World too. Overall, delicious and so easy to drink. I'll drink my remaining bottles now and over the next 5 years. (1168 views) | | | Tasted by blanquito on 11/11/2014 & rated 91 points: Classic ESJ, but it needs more time. Still a little primary-grapey, then herby-raspberry tea with some sausage. Dark fruited and a bit stemmy, lots of sour-savory juiciness. Not tannic at all, but ESJ wines rarely are in my experience. Rather, they age like a Pinot, on the fruit and acids. This is a subtle wine right now, requiring introspection to appreciate, but I think this will eventually blossom as it improves with a few hours of air. Not quite in the same league as the 2005 ESJ Wylie-Fenaughty, I think, but give it more time to find out.
By Day 2, this improved with much more fruit showing and a svelte texture. Based on other ESJ syrahs, I think this will continue to improve with another 5 years in the cellar (especially if more secondary nuance develops), but it's already nice with enough air. (1955 views) | | | Tasted by spacewrangler on 5/18/2013: Lovely stuff. Really fleshed out now and I love the acidity that lifts up the flavors. No rush to drink. (2318 views) | | | Tasted by decaturwinedude on 1/19/2013 & rated 91 points: Again, a very balanced wine. Cool, dark fruit. Mineral-laden. There is a nose of vanilla bean, iron, smoke, and dark fruit. Just a touch of acid that adds to the overall clean balance. Coming into its own now, but no good to go for a good many years. (2462 views) | | | Tasted by Wicker Parker on 1/2/2012 flawed bottle: Flawed. Nice floral nose, but the simple and bitter band-aid flavors scream brett. It's not awful but, lacking lamb as an offset, the brett's high enough to be a bit unpleasant. Nice texture, though, and otherwise nicely balanced. (2831 views) | | | Tasted by RPerro on 6/17/2011 & rated 91 points: Popped and poured a couple glasses to get some air about an hour prior to sampling. Could smell the fruit from 4 feet away (as I worked at my desk). Huge fruit, lots of raspberry, cherry and earth, both on the nose and palate. Definitely in a sweet spot right now...Drink now though 2015. (2895 views) | | | Tasted by awinestory on 2/17/2011 & rated 85 points: Initially tasted blind ...
deep intensity, purple-garnet, 2-3 years of age based on color and palate
nose: med+ intensity, some floral elements, a sort of cheesecake - 24 hours later "some" blue fruit but more jammy fig/dried fruit of a napa cab
palate: dry, acid med tannnin juicy and med body med alc 13.5 finish med+ and spicy plum -- a curious herbal quality. Alcohol hot ...
24 hours later the "spicy plum" is more a "spicy fruitcake" of dried fruit .... nothing very "syrah" about this wine!
Style note: Delicious and substantial wine that will hold up to steak, lamb - lots of ripe purple fruit and spice, starting to develop terciary flavors of caramel and fig with med+ body and med acid. (2557 views) | | | Tasted by Anthony Lombardi on 2/3/2011 & rated 92 points: Tasted blind and this totally bamboozled me. The wine had the weight and structure of a Cote Rotie, but lacked the floral (viognier) aromatics. Dark maroon. Great meaty nose with iron and green herbs. Wonderfully complex aromatics. Full bodied showing red fruit and a touch of apricot on the mid palate. Umami/ savory components check in as well. A stern acidic cut keeps you on your toes. A bit too sudden, you are drawn back to consider the complexity on the palate. Medium finish with austere, green tannins just adds another layer to this brilliant wine. (2311 views) | | | Tasted by RPerro on 1/14/2011 & rated 90 points: Nice and earthy, although not to the extent as other bottlings of this I've had. Definitely drinking well, and paired nicely with our varied meals (Italian, steak, pork chops). (2143 views) | | | Tasted by cweiss on 11/14/2010: Big fruit, some cough syrup quality that I'm sure will settle down with some more time. (2289 views) | | | Tasted by salil on 9/16/2010: What the hell happened here? Poured blind next to the '05 Kosta Browne Amber Ridge; this showed some bretty funk on the nose, very little fruit and balance and a hot, alcoholic finish. Was stunned when this was revealed; while it did seem a little better integrated/less alcoholic with air, it certainly wasn't anything I'd expect from ESJ. (2471 views) | | | Tasted by ekenneth on 6/10/2010 & rated 92 points: This is an excellent Syrah. There's a very nice floral, slightly-under ripe quality that resembles a young Cuilleron St Joseph in many ways, but there's good restraint, fresh fruit and a a suggestion of old-world terrior, not frequently seen in California wines. (2407 views) | | | Tasted by EMichels on 5/15/2010 & rated 83 points: Tough nose/slight barnyard; Fruit more forward but slightly backward (2165 views) | | | Tasted by salil on 5/8/2010 & rated 88 points: Mucho ESJ (Croton on Hudson, NY): Very primary right now, showing a core of deep red fruits and plums accented by touches of violet and earth, though tightly wound with a firm tannic and acid spine. Hands off for some more time. (3170 views) | | | Tasted by decaturwinedude on 1/16/2010 & rated 91 points: I recently claimed that Steve Edmunds was a genius. This wine has not changed that assertion. So incredibly balance, so delicious, and yet, so young. There is a nose of vanilla bean, iron, smoke, and dark fruit. Palate is tight, but so smooth. It's a graceful wine, yet it seems to be just revealing hints of what it will become. Very nice effort and ridiculous value at $25. (2587 views) | | | Tasted by spacewrangler on 9/14/2008 & rated 88 points: Ruby red. Like sitting next to a smoldering campfire with its smoky/charcoal bouquet. Black fruit, olives and ham work into the mix, this is very austere and requires some cellar time. (2591 views) | | | Tasted by Spencer on 7/23/2008 & rated 88 points: Nowhere near as good as the '05 Wylie-Fenaughty, the only other '05 ESJ that I've had. Nice, earthy/meaty/mineral/herbal nose, but marred by screechy acidity and a hollow midpalate. Decent finish. Not bad for the price, especially considering the first-rate nose. (2638 views) | | | Tasted by Rieslingfan on 5/17/2008: This is one of the more accessible young ESJ Syrahs I have ever tried. There's lots of fruit (lots!), but also very good balance. It has richness but not heaviness. There's a hint of earth on the edges, but right now it's buried in the fruit. I could drink every bottle of this I own now while I wait for the Bassetti bottlings to open up. (2811 views) |
| Edmunds St. John Producer websiteSyrah Varietal article (Wikipedia) | (Wines Northwest)
Note that some producers in the Northern Rhone distinguish between simply Syrah and "Serine", the latter described as ‘an ancient clone of Syrah, the berries of which are more oval-shaped and less deeply pigmented than Syrah’ by producer Tardieu-Laurent. Parmelee-HillPlanted in 1996 in south west Sonoma Valley, is owned and farmed by Steve Hill and his wife Gwen. This is the same Steve Hill who manages the famed Durell Vineyard, right next door. In some cases fruit is designated from Camp Block, a 1.5 acre parcel that sits on the edge of a hill near the family's camp site. Here, the Durell selection is planted on S04 Rootstock in clay loam (red/brown) soils.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Sonoma CountyMendocino CountySonoma ValleySonoma County, California, is one of the most important winegrowing regions in the whole of the United States. Vines have been planted here since the 1850s and, apart from the inevitable hiatus brought about by Prohibition, the county's relationship with wine has been prolific and unbroken.
Viticulturally speaking, Sonoma County is divided into three distinct sections: Sonoma Valley, Northern Sonoma and Sonoma Coast. Each of these has its own AVA title and encompasses several sub-AVAs within its boundaries. |
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