Bedrock Save the Date Winter 2020 Release

We wanted to send a quick note to let you know the Bedrock Winter 2020 Release will be taking place the morning of Tuesday, November 10th.

Every four years, we have the interesting (to put it lightly) experience of sending out this release right around a presidential election and the resulting thirst-inducing punditry. While this year in particular many things in the world feel outside our control, what we keep coming back to is how grateful we are for the ability to make wines and share them with you all year after year - particularly so in challenging annums like 2020.

This release will include several wines from the lovely 2019 vintage, including a cadre of field-blend deliciousness from Pagani Ranch, Oakville Farmhouse, Under the Mountain, and Pato Vineyard, plus our first Cuvee Karatas since 2016 (the return of Monte Rosso Ancient Semillon!). On the purer Zinfandel side of things, we have the 2019s from Carlisle Vineyard, Monte Rosso and Schmiedt Road. This release also includes a wine we never thought we’d make - 2019 Chardonnay from the 1973 plantings at Bien Nacido Vineyard - plus a wine we’ve been excited to make for years: a Late Harvest Gewürztraminer from Alta Vista Vineyard. From Sonoma to Santa Maria, from Santa Clara to Lodi, from Oakley to Oakville, from red, white to sticky, we got you covered!

If you have not ordered wine from us in the past, you will receive a first-come, first-serve offer on Wednesday, November 18th.


A new late harvest will be fun to try…been a big year but Pagani and Monte Rosso are must buys for me

I have to try to keep this to under a case. I went deep (for me) on the last release…

oh this is going to hurt…

Going to be some tough decisions on this release.

Just when I said I wouldn’t order more wine this year…

No mention of the value California Syrah that is usually available during the Winter release. No Syrah at all in this release according to the email. If it is moved to the spring that is going to be a high volume shipment !

Bingo. Thought I was in the clear.

Aren’t all Bedrock shipments high volume shipments?

Curious as well about the fate of the Cali Syrah.

Perhaps Morgan can chime in on that, if he’s reading.

Reading with one eye open- not sure if the new addition to the family is being sleep-trained or is sleep-training us at this point.

And yes, California Syrah will be part of the Winter Release as normal. Here is my working note on it:

Our “value” Syrah from 2019 is, as always, a blend of the several great Syrah sites around the state that we get to work with. A blend of the ultra-cool climate (Bien Nacido), cool climate (Hudson, Griffin’s Lair, Weill and Walker Vine Hill) and, for the first time, some Syrah from Bedrock Vineyard. Our hope is that this wine shows off the potential of this great variety in California. Fermented with indigenous yeast with all lots seeing some whole cluster percentage (20-100%), the wine showcases the dark pepper, perfume and elegance that Syrah can achieve at its best. This is our version of Crozes-Hermitage— distinctly Syrah but at a tariff that allows it to be good company for a weeknight repast.

Also, Chris and I are planning on doing a podcast on all of the wines tomorrow morning which will hopefully be up later this week.

Cheers!

Thanks, Morgan!

As a first time buyer of Bedrock, are there any wines that are a must try? I’m a cab lover at heart and also like late harvest chards/semillions, sav blancs, and interesting darker reds (Syrah, Petite Sirah, etc). Bedrock has so many interesting grapes it may be impossible to choose without your help.

Thanks!

The entry-level stuff like the California Syrah in this release delivers both massive value and a nice window into the house style. Start there.

I think the field blends, particularly the ones drom Sonoma Valley, are somewhat foundational to their project, so would definitely grab Pagani in this release.

Beyond that, MTP’s notes are great so grab whatever sounds most appealing.

I’ll take all the Pato offered. My new favorite Heritage. Will also take all the Under the Mountain and the Schmiedt. I could be real happy with just those three.

Wow, I couldn’t be more excited about seeing the late harvest addition - if it’s anything like the old Lachryma Montis, it should be a real treat!

Morgan.

How will the 2011 Bedrock Wine Co. Sémillon Lachryma Montis, Botrytized Old Vine Monte Rosso Vineyard compare to the Late Harvest Gewürztraminer from Alta Vista Vineyard?

Thanks.

Buy all the Pagani and thank us later.

Well, it is a bit of different beast in that it is from an aromatic variety rather than a semi-aromatic variety but both are grown on the same soil types at a similar elevation in the Moon Mountain AVA. Semillon tends to be more prone to botrytis (particularly in the very wet, by CA standards, 2011 harvest) than the thicker-skinned Gewürtz so more of the sweetness in this comes from extended hang-time and raw sugar accumulation rather than grey rot. If the Lachryma Montis was more in the vein of Sauternes this is probably more akin to an Alsatian Vendanges Tardives though the naturally great acids of Alta Vista really helps offset the sweetness (which I cannot say about some VT Gewürzt) and I will say the dessert wines my dad made from the site in 1993 and 1994 have really stood the test of time. This is my working note on it:

This is our first dessert wine since the 2011 Lachryma Montis Semillon (though not our first attempt—dessert wines are hard to make!) and we could not be more pleased with it. We have long wanted to make a sweet wine from the extraordinary Alta Vista vineyard, and after six years of rehabilitation, the once abandoned 1940’s-planted vineyard finally produced enough fruit for us to make both a dry and sweet version from the site. Located on the southwestern edge of Mt. Veeder in the Moon Mountain AVA, the mountain site always retains lots of acid, which helps balance the unctuousness of Gewürztraminer. Picked at 31.6 brix, the finished wine has 136 g/l of residual sugar and finished at 10.6% alcohol. My favorite dessert wines in the world, be it Sauternes, Vin de Paille, TBA or Eiswein Riesling, all balance extraordinary density, soaring aromatics and sweetness with equally bright acids. This wine, despite its sugar, is not cloying but rather bursts forth with great energy and the exotic perfume imparted by the variety. Delicious now, this should age well and gain complexity with time.

Yeah, I said the same thing…I am such a liar! I suspect I will be in for at least 2 cases. Fortunately they are very reasonable.

Couldn’t agree more. Pagani from Bedrock and Carlisle are must buys! Great vineyard, and producers!