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

  • 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.)

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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

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Sort of preferred the mystery. :wink:

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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.

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.

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The 2019 was the latest release, Robert.

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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

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

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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!

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

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://wineimport.discoursehosting.net/t/assortment-of-wine-duhart-milon-bedrock-jolie-laide-torre-dei-beati-frogs-leap/162395/1

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

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

Yes, but I am leaving it for tomorrow.

Even better :slight_smile:

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

This.

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

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.

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