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Mr.
E. on Mount Eden
Diary
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There was a time when we
didn’t care much for Pinot Noir here at Gang
Central. Something about its unique, even peculiar qualities just
didn’t sit well with us, despite the fact that our old friend,
Kristofer
Engelhardt,
aka Mr. E would open one or two for us whenever we
got together. (Kris was also responsible for introducing Kim and
me to Zinfandel back in the mid-70s, as has been previously
reported. I don’t remember the exact circumstances of our
conversion, but it was sometime around 1994, and a late ‘80s model
from
Kalin
seems to stick out in my recollection. Finally, we were hooked.
 And so, when I ran across a
couple of 9 and 10 year old Mount
Eden Estate Pinot Noirs whilst rattin’ around in the back room
of a local merchant not long ago, my first thought was, “Now here’re
a couple that I’ll bet Mr. E would like.” My interest was
piqued by David King’s fine
Gang
feature
on this producer. Not only were they older wines, they were priced
$10-12 less then the current vintage, so the purchase was really a
no-brainer and I picked up one of each. We took the opportunity
to enjoy these with our longtime compadre sooner, rather than later,
during a holiday visit to our old hometown, Bay City, Michigan.
1990 Mount Eden Santa Cruz
Mountains Estate Pinot Noir, $29.99, 12.5% alc.: Only eleven barrels
of this rusty dark garnet were produced from seven acres of fifty
year old vines. It exudes a big smoky black cherry/plum/Brasso/ earth/forest
floor bouquet that shows hints of
chocolate and a certain vegetal quality that adds to the complexity and
appeal. The flavors echo with nice density, good concentration, lively
acidity and a reasonably long finish. Kris added impressions of
“cooked fruit and apple cider, believe it or not,” finding it
“very Burgundian.” The tannins are mostly resolved, and while this
is drinking very well, it has at least a few more years of improvement
left.
 Kris
Engelhardt (left)
is a most
interesting character. A graduate of the Culinary
Institute of America, he worked for a time at Detroit’s
London
Chop House in the mid-70’s, before taking a position in his family’s
construction company. And while he has maintained his love of gourmet
cuisine and fine wine, there is one overriding passion in his life that
has eclipsed even those; he is a Beatles fanatic. What’s more,
this is no idle preoccupation, since he has written a fascinating book
on one seldom considered facet of the Fab Four, entitled Beatles
Undercover. A 550 page chronicle of the Beatles
contributions to other artists recordings, the book is full of names,
dates and anecdotes regarding some 900 recordings, taking Engelhardt seven
years to research and compile. Also included are almost 200 photographs
and a CD with three previously unreleased recordings produced and/or
penned by John Lennon.
B
A C K T O T H E T O P
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