Tried these two w/ dinner last night:
- Donkey&Goat Roussanne StoneCrusher ElDorado (12.1%; U; 365 cs; EllenRidgeVnyd; 16 days of skin-contact) 2013: Dark golden/burnished bronze cloudy color; very strong phenolic/resiny/cidery some orange rind very stony/mineral/earthy slight Roussanne/honeysuckle bit coarse complex nose; very acid lean/hard/austere quite phenolic/resiny quite stony/mineral/chalky/flinty slight orange rind/honeyed flavor w/ ample hard/astringent tannins; very long acid/hard/lean/austere rather resiny/phenolic/skin-contact/cidery light orange rind/appley/honey very stony/chalky/mineral finish w/ ample astringent tannins; very phenolic in character and not much fun to taste. $30.00
- Kenneth-Crawford Syrah ThompsonVnyd/SBC (13.7%; www.KennethCrawford.com) Buellton 2002: Dark color w/ slight bricking; bit earthy/dusty slight cedary/tobaccoy some peppery/blackberry/Syrah/licorice/pungent some toasty/charred/oak nose w/ a slight funkiness that clears rapidly; bit soft strong peppery/blackberry/Syrah/spicy bit toasty/oak/charred slight earthy flavor w/ light smooth tannins; very long fairly strong blackberry/Syrah/licorice/peppery light toasty/charred/oak bit earthy/dusty finish w/ light fully-resolved tannins; quite an attractive example of a fully-mature SantaBarbara Syrah; should go another 4-6 yrs.
A wee BloodyPulpit:
- The D&G was about where I expected it to be from last tasting it over a yr & hlf ago. It is very hard/austere/dry and pretty tannic and not moved much. It is very phenolic in character and not any fun to taste. It hurts. No Roussanne fruit that I could find. However, as is true w/ many skin-contact whites, it badly needs food to go w/ it. I had it with SmokedPimenton Macaroni Almonds and a spicy smoked sausage ragu Farfella pasta dish. It was no longer painful to drink, but the Roussanne seemed a bit bland. Certainly not a match made in heaven. So…moral of the story…don’t taste it by itself but have it w/ food…and don’t expect a miracle.
Tom