WTN: Keep Me Searching for a Heart of Gold...

I've been to Hollywood, I've been to Redwood...

Warning: Yet another paean to ESJ wines.

Had occasion, on the visit of a good friend from Austria, to go to Cyrus in Healdsburg.

Wanted to order two whites off the list so I selected the two I couldn't resist.

First, the Grosset Polish Hill Riesling Clare Valley. A wine of absolute pinpoint precision and clarity, and the epitome of what Aussie Riesling can be. Astoundingly good.

Second, they had the Edmunds St. John Heart of Gold 2007, a blend of Vermentino and Grenache Blanc. I suppose at this point Steve and his wines shouldn't continue to surprise me, but once again I was stunned by the admittedly European expression of this California wine. Perhaps, it's that he's using varieties better suited to the climate than most CA winemakers do. Perhaps it's Steve's hard, unrelenting focus on selecting the best possible small, individual sites and producers in precisely the right places (the man is seemingly indefatigable at that, a true wine road warrior). Perhaps it is his restraint and patience in the winemaking process. Perhaps he does have superb Intuition and Blind Luck (although that's not his motto on this bottle, it's "By Hook or By Crook", but it still applies). But I think the intuition part may come at the beginning, the blind luck at the end, with one hell of a lot of careful diligence in the middle.

Restrained, subtle, unassuming at first, then slowly and almost shyly allowing the stony fruits to emerge. Beautiful, gorgeous balance of all the elements, with just enough acidity to support everything and hold it all together and keep it intereseting. Lots of yellow fruits here, lemony/juicy and bright, with I thought a slightly waxy touch (not a negative); also a really nice touch of minty freshness The fruit expression fell just short of overripe; right on the edge, but on the right side of the edge.

The real marvel of the wine was that it was being put up against a rather wide range of food aromas and flavors---the Chef at Cyrus is of the school that puts very definite flavors,and lots of them, on the plate at any given time. The HOG (um, unfortunate acronym, but what the hell) handled everything with aplomb.

A real Heart of Gold, this one. The name is apropos. And at only $44 on the Cyrus list, it's an absolute steal. But then, most of the ESJ wines easily fall into that category.

Most interesting to me was one of our dinner companions, a former Austrian sommelier and now writer for various magazines, who was looking for a "discovery" to chortle about. He was madly scribbling away, inspecting the bottle, and listening to my stories about Steve and his wines. And some of the stories were actually real too! I think he was heading out in search of some ESJ Syrahs when last I saw him.

Hope we'll see some more enthusiastic press, and help that little bit more to get this guy the attention he so richly, richly deserves.

And if you get a shot at trying the Heart of Gold....go for it!!!

Note to Steve: Montana. It's a state. Wherein no ESJ is to be found. Please correct this terrible oversight, asap!

(I think we're down to our last couple bottles of ESJ.... NOOOOOooooooooooo!)

Darn! I thought this was a thread on Sauternes...

Note to Steve: Montana. It's a state. Wherein no ESJ is to be found. Please correct this terrible oversight, asap!

(I think we're down to our last couple bottles of ESJ.... NOOOOOooooooooooo!)

Sorry, no sympathy.

More for you = less for me. Simple equation.

Although, in fairness to Steve, he could probably make a killing up in Montana. Might sell a whole case, mixed.

Hell, if he went up there for a week and worked the metropolitan market areas....wait, make that half a day, then...he could probably ratchet up sales to maybe three cases. Woo hooo!

[James Roscoe]

We had the Heart of Gold 2007 at a now infamous gathering in Philadelphia. It was delicious. Is there any chance of seeing it in Maryland?

Count me as another fan of of The HOG...I think I've posted on it in the past.

It is available in Indiana so nah, nah, nah nah.

Hey, our household alone would buy at least 5 cases! Probably a lot more seeing what big fans we are of Steve's wine.

Stupid Montana shipping restrictions.... We'll probably have to take a road trip to the Bay Area when the weather gets nice and just fill up the trunk.

Note to Steve: Montana. It's a state. Wherein no ESJ is to be found. Please correct this terrible oversight, asap!

(I think we're down to our last couple bottles of ESJ.... NOOOOOooooooooooo!)

Damn, Cynthia! I thought you were in New Mexico! I've had "distributors" in Montana. They aren't worth much. If somebody beats down their door they'll order the wine. Then, if it doesn't walk into the stores and restaurants, and sell itself, they never order it again. (Come to think of it, New Mexico's kind of like that, too!)

Hoke; thanks for all the nice things you said. I like the wine a lot, and especially liked that these grapes were full of flavor at under 22 Brix. The '08 is being bottled in a couple days, and is similar, though there's slightly more Vermentino, and, concomitantly, less Grenache Blanc. Retails for about $20.00.

Note to Steve: Montana. It's a state. Wherein no ESJ is to be found. Please correct this terrible oversight, asap!

(I think we're down to our last couple bottles of ESJ.... NOOOOOooooooooooo!)

Damn, Cynthia! I thought you were in New Mexico! I've had "distributors" in Montana. They aren't worth much. If somebody beats down their door they'll order the wine. Then, if it doesn't walk into the stores and restaurants, and sell itself, they never order it again. (Come to think of it, New Mexico's kind of like that, too!)

Steve is anybody handling your juice up here in the Willamette Valley?

We had the Heart of Gold 2007 at a now infamous gathering in Philadelphia. It was delicious. Is there any chance of seeing it in Maryland?

I brought the Heart of Gold 2007 to PauloCOOL. I received this direct from Steve last Fall and thought it would be a hit there. I had it early in the meal, with my salad (Insalata Rraci - Belgian Endive with apples, walnuts and gorganzola). By the time I was ready for another glass it was all gone. Great stuff indeed.

[David M. Bueker]

Another HOG fan here!

Note to Steve: Montana. It's a state. Wherein no ESJ is to be found. Please correct this terrible oversight, asap!

(I think we're down to our last couple bottles of ESJ.... NOOOOOooooooooooo!)

Hey, don't forget Oklahoma! We need your wine! PLEEEEEEASE...

Damn, Cynthia! I thought you were in New Mexico!

We relocated (with much whining and moaning over their anti-shipping stance!) this winter. I like Montana in many, many respects. The wine situation is not one of them.

Count me in as a newly annointed Heart of Gold fan since my taste of it at PauloCOOL! Unfortunately, no chance of getting it here in PA, but hopefully, I'll be able to find some in either NJ or DE.

[James Roscoe]

Lizbeth, I find a lot of ESJ at the State store in Jenkintown, PA by the Trader Joe's on Old York Rod. I haven't seen the H.O.G., but then I am usually in the syrah section.

Lizbeth, I find a lot of ESJ at the State store in Jenkintown, PA by the Trader Joe's on Old York Rod. I haven't seen the H.O.G., but then I am usually in the syrah section.

PA bought some wine in the Spring of '07, and not since. You probably know already what kind of brain-dead system PA has, and the '07 harvest that produced the Heart of Gold hadn't occurred at that time, so there isn't any in PA. Time to punt? How do we persuade the great state of PA that they need to give their citizens a shot at ESJ?

[David M. Bueker]

Well in Lizbeth's case she should just blow off the stupid PA system & head for New Jersey. Just go over one of several bridges & buy wine in a real state.

There has been some ESJ hanging around in a few stores in PA, but with the way the PA stores (not to mention the warehouses) treat their wine, you never quite know what the quality will be, which is so, so sad.

First, the Grosset Polish Hill Riesling Clare Valley. A wine of absolute pinpoint precision and clarity, and the epitome of what Aussie Riesling can be. Astoundingly good.

What year on the PolishHill??

....and listening to my stories about Steve and his wines. And some of the stories were actually real too!
!

Gasp...you didn't tell him all the stories, did you Hoke!!!

That HoG is an absolutely delicious wine to drink.
Tom

I like the wine a lot, and especially liked that these grapes were full of flavor at under 22 Brix.

How can you make a decent wine from grapes that haven't reached "physiological ripeness"???

The '08 is being bottled in a couple days, and is similar, though there's slightly more Vermentino, and, concomitantly, less Grenache Blanc. Retails for about $20.00.

Don't you know what pangs of guilt it gives me to buy a wine that good so cheaply?? Pleeeeze...can't I pay $30/btl???
Would like to taste this? Being poured at RhoneRangers?? I would guess the greater Vermentino would give it more of a stoney/austere/steely character that appeals to us vermin that like that sort of thing? No "gobs of hedonistic fruit" for me.
Tom

I'll look for the '07, but '08 seems even more likely to hit my sweet spot.
Twice I've clicked on "first unread" on this thread, and seen HoG and wondered why they were discussing Henschke in an ESJ thread...

Hoke :

First, the Grosset Polish Hill Riesling Clare Valley. A wine of absolute pinpoint precision and clarity, and the epitome of what Aussie Riesling can be. Astoundingly good.

What year on the PolishHill??

2007. Too young, but what the hell you gonna do? And even with infanticide, no one was complaining. The Austrian guy was actually squirming and bouncing in his seat when the lobster dish and Grosset Riesling conjoined in his mouth. Guess it was the Tyrolean version of a victory dance.

[David M. Bueker]

Just piling on here, as I had another bottle of HoG last night: white fruit (e.g. white peach), herbs and loads of rocks. This is just yummy.

Hey Steve - if you are listening, what's the liner on your screw caps? Saran? Tin + Saran? Something else? It actually looks like something else. Inquiring minds want to know.