Digging around looking for something to drink on this casual weekend evening, and I realize that I have not yet tried one of the 2018 Gonon St Joes. So out she goes. I’m channeling my inner-Jeremy Holmes here.
I really do believe, having been following Gonon since the 2006 vintage, that these wines are improving year over year. I was not sure what I would think of this ripe 2018 year, where so many other favorite wines of mine have teetered on the edge of over-ripe, this Gonon pulls it off quite adroitly. Yea it is ripe and a bit lower acid than, say, 2016 and 2014, but it really is a thrilling drink. Black olives, iron and crushed wild black raspberries for days. Grilled meats, salted meats. Scaled along the lines of 2015, still primary and chewy, but it oozes with such flavor, so savory. Closes with a tangy, chewy finish and an intriguing blood orange citrus note.
I don’t think you need the so-called Rule of 15 on these babies, maybe 10 ideally, but they will run for some distance. I’m hiding these from myself.
Sounds fantastic! May have to open one. I remember the 15 drank pretty darn well from the beginning, and for several years (haven’t had one recently). This sounds even better.
Ha ha ha, I said I would sit on mine for 10 years, which is 2031, and as my good buddy @ToddFrench knows that I neither have any willpower nor follow any stated rule, including my own pronouncements, I accidentally popped one again. I really don’t think I can do my 2021 tasting note any better, it seems I am becoming less articulate as I age, but I think that note is pretty spot on. This wine is just flat out delicious. I know this may sound a little crazy, the 2018 is a ripe year, and I was actually thinking about Halcon Alturas as I am enjoying this Gonon. It definitely shows it’s ripeness, and admittedly, lower acid than some of the vintages that I adore like 2014 and 2011, but it still has a freshness about it that keeps it really appealing, notwithstanding the scale of the wine. This wine is a major pleaser. I will not say it is one of the greater Gonons, but arguably, it could be up there as one of the more early appealing ones.
