2012 Château Maris Grenache Gris Brama- France, Languedoc Roussillon (1/4/2016)
Light yellow. Gorgeous nose of smoke, minerals and tropical fruit. Dense and viscous on the palate but bright and lively. Layers of tropical fruit flavors are lifted by bright acidity and a strong mineral nerve. The finish goes on and on. From 60-70 year old vines that are interplanted with the Noir. Very impressive! Drink now through 2019. (93 pts.)
2010 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah Sonoma Coast- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (1/2/2016)
Coravin’d for 2 hours. Crimson purple/black just past the the thin, clear rim. Lovely nose with lavender, smoke, touch of leather, and roasted spices. Medium bodied texture with flavors of licorice, black plum and cooked down raspberries. More Old World that the 2012 North Coast (tasted side by side), this has a lively palate impression, seamless balance and a nice warm finish. I wine you can really cozy up to. Stunning value, for sure. Drink now to 2020. (92 pts.)
2012 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah North Coast- USA, California, North Coast (1/2/2016)
Coravin’d for 2 hours. Purple/black, right to the rim. Opaque. Rather closely held with notes of smoked meat, lavender, pan-roasted spices. Firm, young but nicely balanced, the initial flavors feature mostly black fruit. This is very polished and complex yet still rather primary. An excellent Syrah that is a bit more “New World” that the 2010 (tasted side-by-side) but not all jammy or over ripe. Drink 2018-2021 (91 pts.)
Wow, you either have astounding patience, or lost those bottles in the cellar! Polished off the 2012 recently, and the 2010 is a distant memory. A good reminder that those bottlings are indeed age-worthy.
2010 was the year of the heat spike that devastated lots of plantings in Sonoma County.
The '10 North Coast note from the release letter:
“The wine’s backbone is from Wildcat Mountain Vineyard, which came into the winery late in October at 23.4 brix. The remainder of the wine is composed of Griffin’s Lair Syrah, a trace of Old Lakeville, and a smidge of Hudson for depth. All of the lots saw some percentage of whole-cluster, and I would merit a guess that the wine is roughly 33% whole-cluster with 20% new oak.”
The '12:
“The 2012 is composed of Weill Vineyard, Hudson Vineyard, a couple barrels of Griffin’s Lair, Rossi Ranch, and even a barrel of the gorgeous 2012 Alder Springs Syrah. All of the vineyards were fermented with 40-80% whole-cluster and the wine saw roughly 15% new French oak.”
I think the increase in whole cluster combined with less oak and an even growing season is showing the fruit off more in '12.
So with the recent Bedrock shipment I had to reorganize a bit and we found a 2010 North Coast. Our overwhelming impression of the bottle is how much better the winemaking has become at Bedrock. The 10 just seems like a restrained version of the 12 or 13 (not had the 14 yet) as the nose, attack, mouthfeel and finish all seem noticeably lower in volume. We uncorked our bottle and enjoyed it over an hour or more, this bottle of 10 North Coast was not flawed, just less in many ways.
I have noticed a preference for exuberant domestic Syrah over this past year, that may be all I’m reporting. Oh I have a shitload of Bedrock too.
We moved to the North Coast appellation to include a few vineyards that were precluded by the Sonoma Coast labeling. The main one was Hudson, which has accounted for a decent chunk of the North Coast Syrah blend for a few years now, along with Kick Ranch and Alder Springs.
Doing well, Morgan. Skied the first real powder of the season this morning. Looks like you guys are getting your fill for a change.
Drew, the Maris Gris was a Christmas gift from the winery. We represent them here in Vermont. I don’t think we’ve ever been offered any to sell. I would certainly be a buyer if we were.