Wanted something hefty w/ my BarBQue pulled pork samwich, so cracked:
- JCCellars PetiteSirah EaglePointRanch/MendoCnty (15%; http://www.JCCellars.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) 2007: Black color; rather strong toasty/smokey/pungent/charred fairly strong peppery/licorice/PS/blackberry/tarry very intense nose; massive/hard/tannic/extracted charred/toasty/oak some tarry/licorice/pungent/PS/blackberry slight hot/alcoholic heavy-bodied very extracted flavor; fairly long very tannic/hard/extracted strong PS/blackberry/licorice/tarry/peppery rather toasty/charred/smokey/oak finish w/ massive tannins; a huge/extracted PS w/ loads of oak; may be a long ager, may never come together…I’m clueless. $45.00
And a wee BloodyPulpit:
- This wine is a bit of a puzzle to me. Though it held up to the BarBQue pork and was not emasculated by it; I didn’t find this wine a particular pleasure. Probably would have enjoyed the Brachetto sitting there a bit more.
This is a massively extracted PS. The pleasure one finds from this kind of wine is not drinking it, but what you anticipate in the future. Is this PS going to be a great mature PS w/ 10-15 yrs of age??? Parker states w/ his customary air of certainity that it will. I guess I’m not that certain. But, then, he’s a professional critic and knows what he’s talking about…I just a mere amateur and not always the sharpest pencil in the box.
The wine has the extraction and tannin levels that would suggest a great wine w/ age. But I’m not sure that is all that is needed. The wine reminded me of two wines from outta my past, when they were young. The Ridge YorkCreek PS '71 and the two DavidBruce PS’s '70 & '71 from MaryCarter’s vnyd. It resembles the Ridge, but w/ a different kind of oak, but more PS fruit. But it probable resembles the DavidBruce’s more because of the oak intensity and the fruit extraction, and the alcohol level.
In its youth, though it was pretty intense, nothing particularly suggested to me that the Ridge was a 30 yr PS. But the wine easily made that and, at 25 yrs of age, was one of the most profound/mature Calif RW’s I ever done tasted.
Likewise, because of the fruit extraction, the oak levels, and the intense tannins; I was absolutely certain that the DavidBruce’s would outlive me. The late JohnBrennan predicted, with the usual authority of a professional wine critic, that the '70 would peak in 2010-2020. Alas, the wine was barely holding on for dear life by the early 1980’s and turning into a hot/alcoholic/raisened/stewed fruit mess of a wine by the mid-late '80’s.
So which one is the JCCellars Eaglepoint?? Beats heck out of me…I don’t have the experience to make that prediction. You should probably go w/ the professionals and load up on this wine. I have one btl left and view it as a gamble. I may regret that down the road…who knows??
The only thing I can say about this wine with certainty is that the guy on the tractor behind this wine sure knows what he’s doing. Grew the best PS fruit he knows how to do.
- We all “know” from the authorities that a young/tannic wine like this benefits from “breathing”. Over the course of the evening I tried this wine whilst cooking, it remained fiercly tannic. I shloshed it around quite a bit, but w/ little beneficial effect. It sat out overnite on the counter open to the air. This morning, there was a noticible loss of fruit and the tannins were even more ferocious; one of the most painful wines I’ve had of late. Just don’t understand why everyone reaps great benefits from letting a young/tannic wine breathe; but it seldom happens to me. Must be the altitude…or the radiation up here.
Tom
