Tasted these three together last week at dinner with friends. Thanks for the board members’ thoughts on decanting. I opened them and gave them a two hour decant before pouring all three side by side with dinner. First one caveat: these three were the hardest bottles to open I have ever dealt with. That’s saying a lot after decades of wine drinking, wrestling Dunn Howell wax capsules in the '80s and so forth. These Bedrocks have an almost vinyl capsule that feels glued to the bottle. I felt fortunate not to have been injured in the uncorking process!
With that out of the way, let me say this was a wonderful tasting of three outstanding wines that were acclaimed around the table. Exposition 1, 100% Syrah and 100% whole clusters was the consensus favorite. It had a rich aroma of olives and some herbal character, almost like tapenade, with a blackberry lift as well. The balance here, as in all the wines was exceptional, a finely made wine with richness and plenty of tannic structure remaining after more than a decade. Like the other expositions, this one is drinking well now, and I also think it will be even more interesting in 5-10 years. Exposition 2 is 92% Syrah and 8% Viognier, with 50% whole clusters. I detected a bit more lift in the bouquet when first poured, perhaps from the Viognier, but over time that seemed to subside as the olive, blackberry and what one taster called “spicy licorice” emerged. Exposition 3 is 84% Syrah and 16% Viognier, with 10% whole clusters. This was a bit more closed at the outset, although it opened considerably over time and developed a particularly lovely olive and herbal character. When tasting each of the winesI was reminded of growing up not far away in rural Marin county, where the countryside smells of bay laurel and eucalyptus, a very pleasant sensory recollection from long ago. Given its somewhat more tannic feel, Exposition 3 may end up being the most long lived of these wines, and if you have some, you might keep it a while longer. All in all, I would love to have more of these three wines to follow their development. Special thanks to Morgan and Chris for the wisdom to create these different cuvees and make them available as a set. One of my conclusions was that even in a 7 acre vineyard there were clear distinctions between the wines, and yet each carried a definite signature of a place, and a special place at that.
I mean…how is there zero responses to this post!?! Im not a syrah guy at all but have all of these in the cellar since it’s ny daughter’s birth-year, so THANK YOU for the notes on these wines!
Really cool notes, thanks. Somehow I have the 2011 and 2013, but not the 2012. But, I have always wanted to taste them in an horizontal like this. Any chance you/others have tasted this vintages, and know how the individual bottles line up with the notes here?
Hi Eric,
I was slow to pick up on Bedrock Syrah, I am sorry to say. I don’t have a lot of vintages, but I will poke around in the cellar and if I find either 2011 or 2013 I’ll open and post. That said, comparative reviews of the vintages (Galloni) suggest that the 2013 should be more ready to drink than 2012.
Brian, thanks for the excellent notes. Am I the only one surprised that the wine with the least amount of Syrah and stem inclusion was the most tannic?
Good point. I meant to mention that in my notes. It could be due to something I also should have included in the write up: Exposition 1 (100 percent Syrah) was from an “east-facing slope,” of the vineyard, Exposition 2 from a “south-east facing block” and Exposition 3 is from a “south-facing block.” Perhaps the expression of the block, in addition to the treatment in the winery, that shaped our perceptions of various characteristics.
The discussion about stems and tannins is really interesting. I think that many have been led to believe that if you have stem inclusion, you will have an increase in noticeable tannins. I don’t think it’s that simple. As you posted, there are different parts of the vineyard and therefore we are not talking apples and apples, per se when we’re comparing the three wines.
Also, another important aspect is the fermentation temperature and the final alcohol of each of these three wines. The higher, the fermentation temperature the more you’re going to extract from the stems and the higher, the alcohol the more you’re going to extract from the stems. Lots of variables to consider.
All of that said, thank you for sharing your notes. Really really interesting stuff.
Thank you for the kind words. I truly do enjoy posting as often as I can here, even if it’s not what winemakers are supposed to do
So many winemakers talk about not having the time to be an active participant on this forum. And so many winemakers are concerned about how their words are going to be perceived.
I guess either either I’m naïve or I just don’t care
Please keep posting Larry and thanks for your posts, You, Marcus, Jim, Adam and others contribute so much to this site. The insights into wine making and the wine business is invaluable and go a long way in making Berserkers what it is.
Inspired by this thread, I opened a 2013 #2. Pop and pour, it was pretty austere out of the gate - tannic, tight, and seemingly in need of a lot of air. But, it did seem (at that moment) as close to a LaLa as I could have expected. An hour later, it gained depth, fruit, and focus. Almost like it wanted to be an SQN, but with precision. At no point did it have any of the savory notes (meat, blood, iron, etc.), but it was also not a fruit bomb or over done like some central coast Syrahs. I came in a skeptic, but left a fan. The best surprise wine of the year so far, and one of he best wines for sure.
