Forty-Eight Tons of Flavour
TASTING NOTES:
2023 Tilth Old Vine Red Blend, Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County: “The 2023 Old Vine Red Blend from Sonoma Valley marks our first bottling with winemaker Keith Emerson. A bold, muscular old-vine red blend, this wine layers black cherry, blueberry compote, and blackberry with hints of sage, spearmint, and violet. Rich oak tones of vanilla, mocha, and espresso frame the supple dark fruit, while a thread of stony minerality adds depth. Velvety tannins build to a powerful, lingering finish.” (93 Points, Decanter)
The Vintage: “Napa Valley saw approximately 40” of rainfall over the winter of 2022/2023. The 2023 grape growing season began two weeks later than the five year average as a result of the cooler and wetter than average winter and early spring. The vines had an ample amount of water without being over saturated, shoot growth was steady, flowering and fruit set were also two weeks later than usual, and veraison did not take place in most vineyards until mid-August. Growers and winemakers, at that time, knew that they were in for a long, late harvest. Patience was the name of the game for the 2023 vintage. Early ripening varietals such as Sauvignon Blanc were mostly picked in early to mid-September (as opposed to late August) and the Cabernet harvest lasted until November 10th. Mother Nature was extremely generous in 2023 as the weather stayed moderate and the sun kept shining, thus allowing the vines to slowly ripen their clusters. The yields were bountiful and the wines are extremely dark in color (reds), full of aromatics, opulent, rich and juicy. There is amazing acid structure and fully developed tannins across the board for the red varietals. The whites are fresh and delicious as well. The 2023 vintage will go down as one of the greatest, most unique vintages in quite some time.” (AbV 14.3%, pH 3.75)
VARIETALS: 36% Petite Sirah, 26% Zinfandel, 25% Syrah, 6% Souzao, 3% Grenache, 4% Other (field blend of Cabernet Franc, Alicante, Grand Noir de la Calmette, Peloursin, Lenoir, Merlot, Mourvedre)
BARRELS: 18 months, 40% new
PAIRS WITH: N/A
THAT REMINDS ME OF: Keith Emerson.
Not this Keith Emerson, obviously. The other one. The one who wore capes and stabbed knives into his Hammond organ on stage and once had a full orchestra and cannon fire accompany his band at the Hollywood Bowl. Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, one of the great unhinged showmen of 1970s prog rock, a classically trained pianist who decided that what concert audiences really needed was for him to strap into a hydraulic rig and be rotated upside down while still playing. The organ would spin with him. He made sure of that.
ELP were, depending on your tolerance for twenty-minute keyboard solos and concept albums adapted from Modest Mussorgsky, either a magnificent achievement or a catastrophic indulgence. Possibly both. Their 1973 triple live album Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends runs nearly two and a half hours and contains exactly six songs. They once traveled with forty-eight tons of equipment, a number that requires you to stop and just sit with it for a moment. Forty-eight tons. Of music equipment.
The knives in the organ, though — that was a real technique. He’d lodge them between the keys to hold notes while his hands went somewhere else entirely. Chaotic and precise at the same time. Destructive in service of something bigger. There’s probably a metaphor in there about old vines and field blends and winemakers who layer Souzao next to Grand Noir de la Calmette, but I’ll leave that to you.
