TN: 2017 Bedrock Wine Co. Oakville Farmhouse (USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville)

[D@vid Bu3ker]

• 2017 Bedrock Wine Co. Oakville Farmhouse - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville (1/8/2021)
  Every once in a while I drink a wine that plugs me in to where it comes from. I took one sniff, one sip, and the wine just screamed OAKVILLE! I don’t really know much about this bottling. I don’t really know what’s in the 2017. I do know that it speaks of place. It’s restrained yet has endless depth. The structure is stately, rather than rustic. The fruit is dusty and understated. It’s a modern classic. My remaining bottle will be a tough open. (96 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

[Brian S t o t t e r]

From the Bedrock website:

"One of our smallest vineyards, this Oakville gem is also one of the most important vineyards we work with. In an area defined by tightly spaced, manicured, irrigated Cabernet (what some might call gardened vs. farmed), Oakville Farmhouse vineyard is the lone survivor of a previous age—one in which dry-farmed, head-trained vines of multiple varieties dominated the landscape. The oldest remaining vineyard in Oakville, the vineyard is planted to a unique blend of varieties dominated by Negrette, Petite Sirah (once the most widely planted variety in Napa), Mondeuse, Zinfandel, Carignan, a smattering of whites (Colombard, Semillon, Chenin Blanc) and a few very tasty Black Muscat vines. What always amazes us about the wine is that even though it has no real black Bordeaux varieties in the blend, it still smells like a wine from western bench of Oakville—full of cassis, black raspberry, tobacco and pepper. It also is a veritable bargain compared to its neighbors!"

[Tom DeBiase]

From the Bedrock website:

"One of our smallest vineyards, this Oakville gem is also one of the most important vineyards we work with. In an area defined by tightly spaced, manicured, irrigated Cabernet (what some might call gardened vs. farmed), Oakville Farmhouse vineyard is the lone survivor of a previous age—one in which dry-farmed, head-trained vines of multiple varieties dominated the landscape. The oldest remaining vineyard in Oakville, the vineyard is planted to a unique blend of varieties dominated by Negrette, Petite Sirah (once the most widely planted variety in Napa), Mondeuse, Zinfandel, Carignan, a smattering of whites (Colombard, Semillon, Chenin Blanc) and a few very tasty Black Muscat vines. What always amazes us about the wine is that even though it has no real black Bordeaux varieties in the blend, it still smells like a wine from western bench of Oakville—full of cassis, black raspberry, tobacco and pepper. It also is a veritable bargain compared to its neighbors!"

This really does sum up the vineyard. It is a real California treasure. There are numerous "field blend" wines from many producers, several of them are pretty famous (Geyserville, Evaangelho etc etc) but none are close to the make up of Oakville Farmhouse.

Tom

[D@vid Bu3ker]

Sort of preferred the mystery.

[Rich Brown]

Man, that was an awesome note David! I enjoy all of your TN's but this one made me want to run to my offsite and grab a 17!

I've been debating about checking in on a 13, but considering literally all of Morgan's 13's that I've opened are incredibly structured and begging for more time, I've (so far) decided against it.

[Robert.A.Jr.]

Yea this is special stuff, been buying it since first release. Didn’t get any wish-listed this last cycle, so will have to pick up the 18 in the grey market.

[T Welch]

Yea this is special stuff, been buying it since first release. Didn’t get any wish-listed this last cycle, so will have to pick up the 18 in the grey market.

The 2019 was the latest release, Robert.

[Tom DeBiase]

Man, that was an awesome note David! I enjoy all of your TN's but this one made me want to run to my offsite and grab a 17!

I've been debating about checking in on a 13, but considering literally all of Morgan's 13's that I've opened are incredibly structured and begging for more time, I've (so far) decided against it.

Rich, my note above tells you how much I love this vineyard but having said that, unlike David’s bottle mine a couple months ago was NOWHERE near ready and I had decanted it for several hours.

I would go for the 13 with a couple hour decant.

Tom

[R. Frankel]

Sort of preferred the mystery.

Honestly with all these varietals it’s still a mystery. Black Muscat? Mondeuse? Colombard? My imagination is failing me.

[Rich Brown]

Man, that was an awesome note David! I enjoy all of your TN's but this one made me want to run to my offsite and grab a 17!

I've been debating about checking in on a 13, but considering literally all of Morgan's 13's that I've opened are incredibly structured and begging for more time, I've (so far) decided against it.

Rich, my note above tells you how much I love this vineyard but having said that, unlike David’s bottle mine a couple months ago was NOWHERE near ready and I had decanted it for several hours.

I would go for the 13 with a couple hour decant.

Tom

Gotcha, thanks Tom!

Honestly, I'm still pretty hesitant to pop a 13 farmhouse even with a big decant , as its such a structure vintage. Maybe the move is decanting a 14 for half the day!

[D@vid Bu3ker]

FWIW, I poured a couple of ounces to check the wine, but didn’t pour a full glass for another four hours.

[Tom DeBiase]

Man, that was an awesome note David! I enjoy all of your TN's but this one made me want to run to my offsite and grab a 17!

I've been debating about checking in on a 13, but considering literally all of Morgan's 13's that I've opened are incredibly structured and begging for more time, I've (so far) decided against it.

Rich, my note above tells you how much I love this vineyard but having said that, unlike David’s bottle mine a couple months ago was NOWHERE near ready and I had decanted it for several hours.

I would go for the 13 with a couple hour decant.

Tom

Gotcha, thanks Tom!

Honestly, I'm still pretty hesitant to pop a 13 farmhouse even with a big decant , as its such a structure vintage. Maybe the move is decanting a 14 for half the day!

I hear ya Rich, 2013 is a great but structured vintage. I found my note on the 2017 Bedrock Oakville Farmhouse (and a few others). Here it is, scroll down to it.

https://wineberserkers.com/forum/viewto ... t=oakville

[Rich Brown]

FWIW, I poured a couple of ounces to check the wine, but didn’t pour a full glass for another four hours.

Nice, thanks David! Was there any left for day 2 by chance? Assuming not....but curious how this one would show 24 hours later.

[Rich Brown]

Rich, my note above tells you how much I love this vineyard but having said that, unlike David’s bottle mine a couple months ago was NOWHERE near ready and I had decanted it for several hours.

I would go for the 13 with a couple hour decant.

Tom

Gotcha, thanks Tom!

Honestly, I'm still pretty hesitant to pop a 13 farmhouse even with a big decant , as its such a structure vintage. Maybe the move is decanting a 14 for half the day!

I hear ya Rich, 2013 is a great but structured vintage. I found my note on the 2017 Bedrock Oakville Farmhouse (and a few others). Here it is, scroll down to it.

https://wineberserkers.com/forum/viewto ... t=oakville

Great notes Tom - no idea how I missed these the first time around! Thanks for linking!

[D@vid Bu3ker]

FWIW, I poured a couple of ounces to check the wine, but didn’t pour a full glass for another four hours.

Nice, thanks David! Was there any left for day 2 by chance? Assuming not....but curious how this one would show 24 hours later.

Yes, but I am leaving it for tomorrow.

[Rich Brown]

FWIW, I poured a couple of ounces to check the wine, but didn’t pour a full glass for another four hours.

Nice, thanks David! Was there any left for day 2 by chance? Assuming not....but curious how this one would show 24 hours later.

Yes, but I am leaving it for tomorrow.

Even better

Thanks David - looking forward to hearing round 2 of your note!

[H Wallace Jr]

I took one sniff, one sip, and the wine just screamed OAKVILLE!

This.

[Mich@el Ch@ng]

I kinda regret passing this year, got some 2018 tho.

[P Turk]

Thanks for all the notes on the Farmhouse. I’m sitting on a ‘14, “16-19 vertical, so look forward to trying one in 1-2 years.

[Brian Tuite]

Popped a '15 tonight, letting it air and come to temp. Kinda chilly in the cellar this time of year.

[Drew Goin]

Amazing tasting notes!

I have had Cabs that screamed "Oakville", but never anything like a Zin/mixed blacks.

From the Wayback Machine page for the School House winery's website (via Internet Archive):

"History - The Vineyard and the Wines:

"The original vines of which a few still produce red wine grapes were propagated in1890. This block was the classic mixed-black field blend, a very common vineyard planting technique of the times. Interplanted were Zinfandel, Carignane, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouchet and Grand Noir, and several other varieties which were picked together and vinified into deep dark red table wine...".

[Brian Tuite]

• 2015 Bedrock Wine Co. Oakville Farmhouse - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville (1/10/2021)
  Notes from Day 2. Tobacco, cedar, graphite, cassis and black currant greet the nose. I would say it screams Oakville but someone else stole that line.
  Earthy black raspberry, spice, layered, great depth and balance. Chalky tart finish, more spice. On par with every other vintage I’ve tasted, meaning it’s freaking awesome. Still lots of room to evolve and soften but being able to pull the different nuances of a young wine is half the fun for me. My other bottle gets stashed in the growing vertical.
  
  
  

Posted from CellarTracker

[D@vid Bu3ker]

I had the last glass of the 2017 tonight, and honestly it had not changed much. It was still all about dirt, and not about fruit.

[J.Vizuete]

F7A732A6-58DD-4329-A121-92361F0F43E4.jpeg

David, if you think you’re not an influencer, think again! Watch out Fu

[OwenB]

F7A732A6-58DD-4329-A121-92361F0F43E4.jpeg

David, if you think you’re not an influencer, think again! Watch out Fu

I lobbed in an early bid around $65 and got blown away. Was definitely thinking the same thing about some newfound excitement from this group.

[Mark Lewis]

Expensive weekend!

[Rich Brown]

I had the last glass of the 2017 tonight, and honestly it had not changed much. It was still all about dirt, and not about fruit.

Thanks again for the extended look David - appreciate it!

And damn....final hammer on Winebid was high! No doubt a direct correlation to this thread!

[D@vid Bu3ker]

I had the last glass of the 2017 tonight, and honestly it had not changed much. It was still all about dirt, and not about fruit.

Thanks again for the extended look David - appreciate it!

And damn....final hammer on Winebid was high! No doubt a direct correlation to this thread!

I wasn’t looking. What was the final number?

[Rich Brown]

I had the last glass of the 2017 tonight, and honestly it had not changed much. It was still all about dirt, and not about fruit.

Thanks again for the extended look David - appreciate it!

And damn....final hammer on Winebid was high! No doubt a direct correlation to this thread!

I wasn’t looking. What was the final number?

Looks like $113

[D@vid Bu3ker]

Thanks again for the extended look David - appreciate it!

And damn....final hammer on Winebid was high! No doubt a direct correlation to this thread!

I wasn’t looking. What was the final number?

Looks like $113

Given what high quality Oakville Cabernet goes for that's not so bad.

[Rich Brown]

I wasn’t looking. What was the final number?

Looks like $113

Given what high quality Oakville Cabernet goes for that's not so bad.

A very good point! A relative bargain compared to cabs from the area! But $113 is substantially higher than I've ever seen an Oakville Farmhouse (or any Bedrock wine other than the Weil syrah series) sell for. I think you need to stop posting notes

[D@vid Bu3ker]

There won't be any additional Oakville Farmhouse notes for a while. That should cool down the market.

[Jeff_M.]

Glad I was able to buy these on release. Have them tucked away at my off site to resist the urge to open young.