TN: Bedrock NervoRanch Heritage '14...(short/boring)

WINE TALK
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Inspired by another TN post on this wine, I tried last night:

  1. Bedrock NervoRanch RW Heritage AlexVlly/SonomaCnty (Plntd: 1896; http://www.BedrockWineCo.com; 14.5%) Sonoma 2014: Med.dark color; rather dusty/OV fairly strong blackberry/Zin/raspberry/bit spicy light smokey/oak attractive nose; soft/lush/fat rather dusty/OV some blackberry/raspberry/Zin/lightly spicy light smokey/oak bit soft/soupy flavor w/ light gentle tannins; med.long soft/fat/bit soupy rather dusty/OV bit spicy/blackberry/Zin/raspberry light oak finish w/ light soft tannins; a pleasant enough Zin but just that; lacks structure & brightness & spiciness & zing; rather on the dull/simple side; not a “bad” wine but more of an OaklandWine…“there’s no there/there”; would prefer the OldVines '14 I think. $38.00

A wee BloodyPulpit:

  1. Here’s what I had to say back in Aug’16:

I also find the Ridge Nervo Zins rather underwhelming. I’ve had a few Ridge Caboose Nervos that I thought were pretty good, but not many. Don’t recall a Nervo that I thought was really exciting. The vines are beautiful old vines…ugly/gnarly. But maybe they just can’t deliver.
I’ve walked this vnyd w/ DaveGates. Right up in the middle of the vnyd in the oldest block sits this friggin’ caboose. Ole EdNervo was a railroad buff and collected old rail cars. Somehow, with a lot of help I guess, he managed to plant this caboose way up on the hillside in the middle of the vnyd. Down at the bottom of the vnyd is EdNervo’s home (no longer occupied). Dave speculated that down in the basement, there was probably a lot of old Nervo wines and that he’d love to take a look down there. Don’t know if he ever did or not.
Tom

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Thanks for the notes, Tom!!

I appreciate your check-up on this one, as it is the bouc émissaire du jour.

The excellent Bedrock Release Letter featuring the vineyard diagrams and anecdotes on interplanted vineyards revealed the large proportion of Negrette (low acid, low tannin*) present in the Nervo/Caboose Vineyard. MTP’s Facebook images of the site are simply awe-inspiring. I have to wonder if the Dry Creek AVA is the best place for Negrette, since I am reading these less-than-ecstatic reviews of the wines.

Then again, who’s to say that the wines don’t require a couple of decades to really strut their stuff?

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Or perhaps Negrette is not much of a grape…

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We gave Negrette (the variety was once known at Pinot St. George in California ) a try one year at Harrington Wines and were underwhelmed with the results, so we haven’t given it a shot since then. That fruit came from older vines in San Benito County.

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Thanks for the input, Ken. I believe that the San Benito vineyard in question also provided Negrette fruit for either DeRose or Kenneth Volk, or perhaps both…

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Drew -
Pretty sure it was Volk. DeRose is predominantly estate. Pinot St. George has at times referred to both Negrette and Cab Pfeffer. I think the oldest Negrette in San Benito is on the Gimelli (formerly El Gabilan) Vineyard. I’ve struggled to figure out what to do with Negrette as well.

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Hmmmm…I think Negrette would fit right into Bryan’s portfolio. I’ve had some pretty good Negrettes from CotesFronton, near Tolouse
in France. It can make for a rather rough/rustic style of wine. Maybe it’s that terroir thing all the French folk babble on about. [snort.gif]
Tom