For those in the far north, can our shipments be held until the spring? Our average low here in Minnesota for Dec 12th is 16 degrees, definitely low enough to freeze wine.
A couple of responses to the above. First, we have held the 2012 Cuvee Karatas because we feel like it really improves with bottle age, in fact, we think the original 2008 is just now hitting its drinking window. As such, we figured holding it a bit and letting it gain complexity in bottle would be a good idea as we are not exactly suffering from the number of wines we can offer right now. Lachryma Montis is a harder story as the conditions have to be just right to make that wine- something we got in 2009 and 2011 but not in 2010, 2012 or 2013. As such, it is one of those wines that though we try to make it every year and let a small amount of Semillon hang we are not going to release it unless it matches the quality of the 2009 or 2011.
Regarding shipment in the winter. There is never really a goldilocks moment for shipping. When we ship in the Fall we are always waiting for the heat to chill out a bit in the south and a couple weeks later it is too cold in the north. We monitor temperatures across the shipping routes every morning, bundle orders by state, and do our absolute best to make sure the wines get to you in good condition. If something goes awry (once Fed-Ex takes possession of the wine we can only do so much) we always hold extra wine back as an insurance policy as we never want people to feel like they are accepting compromised wine from us- it is in no ones best interest if the wines we work so hard on hit people’s glasses in a less than perfect state.
Thanks for the update on the Karatas. I still have a few 08’s that I bought retail in Naples. I think they are spelled with a “c” aren’t they? Collectors bottles 
Hey release it now so I can take it to Naples over Christmas break.
Hey Morgan any notes that you can share on Tuesday’s release?
Next week is ideal for SoCal shipping. Might we expect to get our juice soon?!
Love it… Can’t wait.
Hey Eric,
SoCal goes out on Wednesday.
Been tasting the 13 old vine all week and had 13 Compagni Portis last night, both are solid candidates for opening right off the truck if you can’t wait!
Cheers!
Chris
2013 OV Zin is drinking better than any other vintage on release imo. It’s just awesome right now.
Had some shipping troubles ( not bedrocks fault ) and still havent got mine but i have two cases of OV coming and i cant wait for my zin fix. I know there are higher rated varietals but zin is just so drinkable
To us, Zin is “comfort” food.
Yesterday at pickup day at the chicken coop, Morgan was pouring 4 heritage wines from 2013. I didn’t take notes but these were all fantastic and for the most part very approachable:
2013 Evangelho Heritage was the most giving probably yesterday. Hands down Lori’s favorite. Loads of red fruit and spice. Maybe a little heftier than years past with IIRC Morgan said more Mourved then previously. This wine is a winner! Going through my boxes hoping I went deep. I’ll pop a bottle tonight and post a more detailed note.
2013 Bedrock Heritage was very good but the most structured of the wines poured and I got the sense it had loads of stuffing that it was holding back.
2013 Belle du Jour Zinfandel Fantastic wine! Less exuberant fruit and more spice than the Evangelho. When I heard one-off, I somewhat lost interest since it’s a lot of change to follow all these great vineyards, but those who recognize the signature of Montafi Ranch will be interested to know that Morgan made this as a one-time deal in 2013 to take some logistical problems off Mike O who was still in the process of building his new winery during harvest last year. It’s always my favorite Carlisle, so this is one to not miss.
2013 Nervo Zinfandel - another hit, more peppery than others, still fantastic. I was saddened to hear that the patriarch of this vineyard died recently of cancer at 67 years old. The silver lining is that his diagnosis moved the family toward a commitment to organic farming, and with Bedrock getting the grapes, his memory will be honored.
Some of these are part of Tuesday’s release, correct?
Larry, you’re not helping the situation chez moi!
Nate, same here
BTW Tegan said I missed you by a few minutes at Turley last weekend. We should make it a point to meet one of these times.
I expect the Belle du Jour and Nervo will be released Tuesday. The Evangelho and Bedrock are already released.
Just a sneak peak (still relatively unedited for copy and spelling I warn).
2014 Winter Release
Stuff that works, stuff that holds up
The kind of stuff you don’t hang on the wall
Stuff that’s real, stuff you feel
The kind of stuff you reach for when you fall
-Guy Clark
The wane of the day is earlier now. The leaves on the buckeye have fallen and rest in the still dry bed of Hooker Creek. The vineyards wear coats of many colors that will soon crinkle and turn brown when the thermostat gets turned all the way down. Tomato plants are in the compost heap and fine, leathered leaves of cauliflower, zygotes of purple and orange florets, stretch upwards towards a cooler sun. Winter is coming, hopefully not too dry nor cold, and another season is done. And, it has been far too dry for far too long.
This time of year is my favorite. The barbeque is supplanted by the braise and basil gives way to thyme. Rich stocks flavor the kitchen air and the desires for rose’ and bright whites (and big cities?) scurry away as the specter of rich red wine, fecund with dark spice and fruit, looms upon the collective palate. It is the perfect time for our Winter Release, wines that by a large match Fall and Winter cuisine. Some might make it all the way to Spring. But, it has been far too dry for far too long.
In the vineyards the next cycle has already begun. The early harvest and generally dry October and early November has given us plenty of time to spread and integrate compost and other amendments into the soil. Thousands of pounds of seed lie in dirt of good tilth awaiting a dousing of much needed rain. Legumes, clover, peas and vetch are planted in most of our vineyards for their nitrogen fixing capacity- a critical element of vine growth. Brassicas, such as mustard, are planted in vineyards with high nematode populations; upon integration in Spring they give off mustard gas as they break down, bringing down the population of the root-eating little buggers. Also, we are seeding avenues with fescues which will help keep dust- the main vector for spider mites- down come summer of next year. However, all of this only works if we get rain. It has been far too dry for far too long.
Despite this dryness 2014 was a vintage of many successes. The rockstar vineyards- Bedrock, Pagani, Monte Rosso, Evangelho, etc. sang anthems of booming grandure. Wines are rich but fresh, physiological ripeness came early, and the wines bear good resemblance to the excellent 2013’s. Though perhaps not as thoroughly consistent as 2012 or 2013, there is much to love from the vintage. However, it has been far too dry for far too long.
This release features the next set of wines from the wonderful 2013 vintage along with a scarce trio of Syrahs from the 2011 vintage. The 2013 wines, as their inflections and angles become more apparent with a little time, are shaping up to be the best wines Bedrock has ever made. In this release, Pagani Ranch, Nervo and the Ode to Lucien are wines that I suspect one could enjoy 20-25 years from now with proper storage- in many ways they remind me of my father’s wines from 1991, the majority of which are still drinking fresh, complex, and deep today (Old Hill ranch in particular). Kirschenmann is broad and forward and a deliciously tall drink of Zinfandel goodness and the North Coast Syrah might be the best iteration yet. Monte Rosso is just Monte Rosso, so you know, mountain Zinfandel at its perfumed and structured best.
We hope you enjoy these wines as much as we do.
Morgan and Chris
Float the Rogue River with Bedrock! Please join us doing one of our favorite activities- white water rafting. We will be doing a gourmet food and wine trip with our old friend Jimmy Katz from June 12-16th of next year. If you have never seen an osprey fly overhead while drinking Bedrock wine under Oregon’s beautiful skies you have not lived! Check out the website here ("Oregon River Rafting and Inflatable Kayak Trips on the Rogue River. Family adventure vacations, gourmet food, winetasting, classical music, and hiking options with James Henry River Journeys") or reach out to Jimmy directly at jhrj@earthlink.net.
Wines:
Well to live is to fly, all low and high
So shake the dust off of your wings
And the sleep out of your eyes
-Townes Van Zandt
2013 Kirschenmann Zinfandel, Lodi: From the vines that inspired us to buy the vineyard next door, Kirschenmann Vineyard produced a wine of greater density then the pretty 2012. The vines, own-rooted and planted in 1915, yielded just 2.85 tons per acre of lovely fruit in 2013. Planted on Tokay Fine Sandy Loam near the banks of the Mokelumne River in east Lodi, the vineyard is located in one of the cooler subregions of Lodi which imbues it with a finesse and perfume not normally associated with the appellation. The 2013 is imbued with a bit more broad-shouldered bravado then the slinky 2012 but this wine should still drink as well in its youth as with a few years of age on it. It was fermented with native yeasts and spent 14 months in a combination of smaller barrels, demi muids, and a 600 gallon foudre.
2013 Monte Rosso Zinfandel, Moon Mountain: This vineyard really does not need much of an introduction. For those of you who might wonder why we are so perpetually excited about it the vineyard though, this is why: Imagine a dude named Emmanuel Pisgah slogging up a long dirt singletrack in the mid 1880’s, clambering up switchbacks and seemingly impossible elevation gain and arriving at an elevated bench overlooking the wooded and relatively undeveloped Sonoma Valley. Looking around at the fertile wilderness of Madrone, Manzanita, laurel bay, poison oak and sage brush he says “alright, this is where I am going to plant a 350 acre vineyard.” Then imagine that statement of lunacy becoming a physical reality. On top of that, this wine comes from those original vines, planted in 1886 at over 1000’ above Sonoma Valley. It is one of the most beautiful vineyards in the world and the wines are equally exciting. The 2013 is very typical of the vintage- perhaps not as flamboyant as the 2012 but dense, perfumed, focused and ageworthy.
2013 Nervo Ranch Heritage Wine, Geyserville: This is a wine of bittersweet memories and grand personalities, of characters that have helped define my existence but whose contact has been fleeting and ineffable. My grandfather, who passed while my father was a young man, started buying the wines from Nervo Winery in the 1960’s. In July of 2013, David Gates from Ridge Vineyards let my father know that the winery taking the fruit from Nervo (Ridge took it for a long time in the 90’s) had backed out of the contract with harvest fast approaching. A few short days later I was driving north to Geyserville to meet one Joe Mengali. It took only a few short moments of walking the vineyard with Joe to both see the remarkable potential of the vineyard as well as the good-humored and roughhewn love with which Joe farmed it. The vineyard’s oldest vines were planted in 1896 and cling to steep slopes of decomposed shale and are a classic mix of Zinfandel, Negrette (Pinot St. George to the old-timers), Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet, Grand Noir, Grenache, Carignane, Trousseau Noir, Cardinal, Burger, Semillon, and even a little delicious Sauv. Blanc.). It was a no-brainer for Bedrock and the 2013 is one of our very favorite wines of the vintage- dense, peppery with a cool old-school claret character. Unfortunately, Joe Mengali, with his soft eyes, worn hands and huge laugh left us a few weeks ago after a long battle with cancer. The affliction, which the VA attributes to exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam took him at the age of 67. Both Chris and I cherish the couple of years we got with Joe and look forward to a continued close relationship with Joe’s family. In Joe’s memory we will be donating $5 per bottle to a couple charities chosen by his family- North Bay Hospice and Vietnam Veterans of America.
An’ I looked to the stars, tried all of the bars.
An’ I’ve nearly gone up in smoke.
Now my hand’s on the wheel, I’ve something that’s real,
An’ I feel like I’m goin’ home.
-Willie Nelson
2013 North Coast Syrah: As in 2012 the 2013 North Coast Syrah benefited from the benevolent 2013 harvest and I think it easily rivals last year’s iteration in terms of complexity. A blend of Hudson, Weill, and Kick Ranch. The wine saw roughly 60% whole-cluster along with a nice 4% dollop of cofermented Viogner. Raised in a combination of larger format and traditional barrel sizes the wine ultimately saw 17% new French oak along with a 14 month elevage with no racking until bottling.
Well, the Devil made me do it the first time
The second time I done it on my own
-Billy Joe Shaver
2013 Ode to Lucien, California: Well, is this wine really a surprise? It actually was to us. I had long been thinking about making a Bandol-rouge style wine but never felt like I had found the right vineyards. I did know that one component fell into place when we found Evangelho Vineayrd in Contra Costa County back in 2011. The second element came with Gibson Ranch and its incredibly old Grenache and mixed Syrah (the 2013 of which will be released in the Spring). While futzing around with blending this Spring I, rather jokingly, put together a blend that resembled Tempier’s La Miguoa (Mourvedre with a nice dollop of Grenache and Cinsault) but replacing the Cinsault with the old mixed Syrah plantings. I brought a glass over to Chris who was mumbling sweet nothings to his computer (typical) to get his thoughts. We are releasing the wine so you can imagine what he said (there may have been chest bumping and awkward pats on the ass involved). The wine comes completely from dry-farmed vines planted prior to 1900. It was aged completely in neutral oak prior to being transferred to a small older foudre.
2013 Pagani Ranch Heritage Wine, Sonoma Valley: This venerable and famed vineyard, planted in the 1880’s, produced perhaps the finest wine we have made yet. As is typical with the vineyard, its ash-rich grey soils and its rostrum of particularly dark mixed blacks varieties the wine is on the burly side of elegance. More Waylon Jennings than Willie Nelson, more Wagner than Mozart. This wine separates itself from the 10, 11, or 12 as in 2013 the stentorian tone found the higher angels of perfume and the flavors run the gamut from an earthen core to celestial heights.
2013 Belle Du Jour Vineyard, Russian River Valley: Climb the heights of Mont Toffee! Planted in 1927 off of Piner Road in the Russian River Valley, this wine comes from a very well-known vineyard farmed under the supervision of our friend Mike Officer at Carlisle. Though the only time we will work with this lovely vineyard we could not help but release it. A pure mouthful of dark blue-spiced goodness this wine should be delicious over the next couple of years and should hopefully age nicely as well.
2011 Weill Vineyard Exposition Project Trio: I have been impatient to release this one for a while but the very definition of the project requires temporal restraint. Ever since the doing the Hudson Vineyard “Three Ways’ experiment in 2008 I have been wanting to do an experiment in a similar vein but roughly following the examples of the interesting “LaLa” wines of Cote Rotie. When we found Weill Vineyard I realized I had found the spot. Planted at the mouth of Sonoma Valley (technically in the sprawling Sonoma Coast AVA) the vineyard, planted by vineyard guru Daniel Roberts (think Marcassin, Blue Side Ridge, most Ramey Vineyards, etc.) is a jumble of Syrah clones, exposures, and soils along with a good chunk of Viognier. For the project we took three distinct clonal and exposure expressions and vinified them quite differently. The first, done entirely with clone 470 from a steep east facing block was vinified with 100% whole-cluster. The second, from a south-east facing block of clone 877 was vinified with 50% whole cluster and 8% Viognier. The third, from a due south block of both 877 and 470 was done with 10% whole-cluster and cofermented with 16% Viognier. All of the lots spent three years, unracked, in a combination of large and standard format barrels. It was pretty remarkable seeing the transformation of these three wines and how their individuality grew with extended time untouched in barrel. I am extremely pleased with the results and have repeated the exercise every subsequent year. Between three and four barrels were made of each wine so quantities are very limited. $140/ 3 pack.
Thanks Morgan. Credit card meltdown just ahead.
Morgan, when you refer to 5% Walla Walla fruit being the most legally allowed, what to mean?
Federally, by using the North Coast AVA you may include a maximum of 15% juice from outside that region. By using a vintage date and an AVA, only 5% may come from a different year. But, California law requires that 100% of the grapes come from within California for any wine labeled with the appellation of origin California or a geographical subdivision of the state.
Now by using an American appellation you may do a lot more creative adjustments. I’m not from CA, so I don’t see how the CA can be bypassed. Maybe other CA winemakers can jump in.
I guess what I’m asking is by using 5% OR fruit, what requirement did you not break?
Ow, my poor credit card. I think if I could only have one daily drinker for the rest of my days, it would have to be the North Coast Syrah. Punches so far above its weight class it doesn’t seem fair.
Morgan, do you have a sense for how well these will age? My daughter was born in 2013, and I have pictures of her sitting in Bedrock Vineyard with you and Chris earlier this year–I’d love to give her a few bottles of '13 when she hits legal drinking age. Do you think any of these have the stuffing to make it that long, or would I be better off waiting for the spring release and the cabernets?
Thank you thank you for catching that! I wrote the tasting note a while ago based on a mocked up blend I had put together of the different lots. I thought that 5% was the max legal but you are right, Cali law dictates 100% so we left the Rocks element out of the blend. We may or may not do an individual wine from the vineyard in the Spring.