TN: 2009 Edmunds St. John Gamay Bone-Jolly Rose

WINE TALK
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  • 2009 Edmunds St. John Gamay Bone-Jolly Rose Witters Vineyard - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado County (6/16/2010)
    I opened a bottle of this in a Rose tasting about a month ago and this was a weak sister. I think though, it shows the bias of both blind tastings and group settings. While those methodologies offer some good points, they are not without faults. Case in point this wine.

In our blind tasting, this was thin and weak. It did not have the fruit and drinking it side by side with other wines, it did not offer up the kind of enjoyment I expected. Fast forward to last night. the family was playing Risk and my wife and I opened the bottle.

The wine was still on the thinner side, it was more mineral driven than fruit filled. It was not that much different than the previous bottle. Yet, it was perfect last night. We sipped and enjoyed the nuances. It was more intellectual (not often found in a Rose). The lower alcohol levels let me plot my path to world domination. After an hour or two, the bottle was drained. A very outstanding experience.

So what does this mean? Who knows, but I have long said that some wines show better in tastings and other wine show better in other situations. That is why context for tasting notes is critical. I also think that blind tastings further change the dynamics as I spend so much time concentrating, identifying and classifying, that sometimes I forget to appreciate the wine for what it is.

Anyway, for those plotting to take over the world or play Risk, I would recommend a) drinking a bottle of this wine, and b) starting in Australia. (88 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Awesome note that made me [rofl.gif] and [worship.gif]

So, so true. Intellectually, we all know the importance of context, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we can exclude its influence on our perceptions.

Steve Edmunds says this is his best rose ever. I believe him, but I’ve had 2-3 bottles, and frankly I haven’t gotten it yet - like you, my impressions are of a light-bodied, subtle wine that’s definitely on the mineral end of the spectrum. But I’m willing to accept that we simply haven’t found the context in which this wine will really shine.

And now it all makes sense, since we don’t play Risk! Who knew? [shrug.gif]

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Sadly, ESJ’s Gamay crop in '10 was hit with severe frost resulting about a 75% loss. This is really sad for Steve as he is really beginning to hit his stride with with this variety.