Bedrock Fall 2025 Release Save the Date Tuesday, July 15, 2025

WINE TALK
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The 2020 last week was in a great spot.

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Podcast (2 parts) so you can see and hear the full list of wines being released.

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Alarming comment toward the end of the podcast that they will be making very little Syrah from here on out.

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I understand that other producers have had a hard time selling Syrah, though I love it, not everyone does.

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They make so much wine and so many bottlings that, together with the Syrah decline happening in many vineyards leading to less fruit availability, it doesn’t surprise me.

I have always loved what Morgan does with the grape, and I have 3-4 cases going back to 2009 aging happily. But I also love what Cody is doing with it at Desire Lines, leaning a bit lighter and prettier. As long as he doesn’t stop I’ll get my Syrah fix there.

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Have you by chance had the 09 ancient vine Bedrock Vineyard syrah recently? Im admittedly not nearly as much of a syrah fan but have a maggie of that one that I’m pretty excited about but wasnt sure when to open it (the plan was to hold for quite a while).

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when Rich Brown gives a thumbs up to a Syrah comment, something’s up.

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Based on the mag we opened ~2020, you’re a decade or two off still

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I have not, didn’t pick any up sadly. I have a couple of mags of the ‘13, my older son’s birth year, which I had Morgan sign at pickup day, he was embarrassed :laughing:

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Ha ha ha! You’re definitely not wrong :laughing:

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Perfect! That’s kinda what i was thinking but appreciate you confirming my friend!

That said
was the one you opened pretty awesome, albeit young?

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Wow. We just had the regular 2018 Syrah yesterday and it was excellent after a 90 min decant. Beautiful wine.

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Pretend I just got off a bus from Mars. Or Venus.
How do I find and listen to the podcast about this release?
Thanks.

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Spotify, under podcasts.

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100%

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Apple Podcasts - it’s under Bedrock Wine Conversations

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OVZ headed to a 3L box near you! Don’t think this release though.

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I’ve bought two boxed offerings recently from Linne Calodo and it works out great. An unoaked Grenache and a GSM blend. I would buy more quality, everyday wines in this format.

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We are indeed doing a small run of Old Vine in box on this release in response to a lot of requests for it. I have attached the tasting notes for the release here and get into the boxed format a bit on the Old Vine Zinfandel note. The response to box has been pretty great to see- for Lulu it has gone from 5% of production a couple years ago to nearly 40% of the production this year. We are certainly not expecting that type of leap for Old Vine but it is a nice format for people who choose it as a house red in the short term and some restaurants who like to pour it by the glass.

Regarding Syrah- I am quite bummed we will be making less of it for the foreseeable future. The reality is that there are just very few top level sites that remain that have not been torn out due to either Syrah-decline or lack of market. Even in today’s market despite the volume of overall fruit available quite little is Syrah that fits the profile we are looking for. We had some success moving fruit purchasing down to Santa Barbara but the variability of farming from year-to-year combined with the long drive ultimately made that a frustrating exercise that ended up with us putting a lot of expensive fruit in California Syrah- made for killer CA Syrah but essentially zero margins for us. We will continue to hold out hope as I started the winery, originally, to focus on old vine field blends and Syrah- unfortunately one can only do so much about virus/vine disease and larger market forces.

2023 Bien Nacido Chardonnay , Santa Maria Valley

The final vintage from the own-rooted vines, planted in 1973 in the most wind-blown section of the famous Bien Nacido Vineyard, is a beauty.

Picked on October 11th at just 12.8% potential alcohol, the wine was fermented in 500-liter puncheons and aged for 10 months before bottling. Using these larger vessels (500 liters vs. the more standard 228-liter barrels) allowed us build texture while retaining both tension and a touch of noble reduction, without introducing overt woodiness or lees character.

Wonderfully perfumed and tactile, the wine offers aromas of mandarin, Meyer lemon, and fresh pear alongside flint, iodine, and oyster brine. It drinks like an American take on Chablis—one with added density and depth from these remarkable 50-year-old vines.

2024 Cuvee Karatas , Sonoma Valley

In 2024, we received such a small amount of Semillon fruit from the ancient vines at Monte Rosso that we couldn’t make a single-vineyard wine from it. That turned out to be great news for CuvĂ©e Karatas, as we ended up co-pressing the fruit from the 1880s-planted, mountainside vines with Semillon from Bedrock Vineyard.

The co-pressed lot was then blended with selected barrels of Sauvignon Blanc from Bedrock and Judge Vineyards, which contributed both perfume and electric acidity to balance the natural weight and texture of the Semillon.

The result is a wonderfully complex wine that combines floral notes of honeysuckle and verbena with tropical and stone fruit aromatics on the nose, supported by a vibrant yet deep texture.

In its youth, the wine tends to showcase the precocious aromatics of Sauvignon Blanc, but with time under cork, the rich, beeswaxy complexity of Semillon begins to emerge.

2024 Compagni Portis Heritage Wine , Sonoma Valley

This “unicorn” vineyard produced a scant 0.87 tons per acre of fruit in 2024. We call it a unicorn because it is one of the last vineyards showcasing what was once a strong presence of Teutonic varieties in our little Sonoma Valley.

Indeed, many of the first major wineries in the valley dating back to the 1860s, such as Gundlach Bundschu, Kohler & Frohling, and others—focused their efforts on producing a white “Hock” wine from varieties like Riesling, Sylvaner, Traminer, Elbling, and more. Even the esteemed Monte Rosso Vineyard contained over 20% Riesling in the 1970s.

As market forces pushed growers toward more modish varieties like Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc, nearly all of these earlier plantings disappeared. One of the few exceptions is this 1954-planted field blend of GewĂŒrztraminer, Trousseau Gris (also known as Grey Riesling), Riesling, and Roter Veltliner.

Picked on August 28th and whole-cluster pressed, the wine was fermented using indigenous yeasts and bottled in February 2025.

For us, the most successful vintages of Compagni Portis combine the exotic perfume and weight of GewĂŒrztraminer with the natural acidity and mineral drive of the later-ripening Trousseau Gris, Riesling, and Roter Veltliner.

Unfortunately, volumes remain as small as ever, with only 1,400 bottles produced.

2023 Tres Bonné Red Wine , 51% Sonoma Valley/49% Oakville

This singular wine is named for our good friend and hyper-talented wine writer Jon BonnĂ©. As part of our ongoing efforts to regularly taste wines from outside our own cellar, we conduct monthly team tastings led by different members of our staff. This year, we decided to devote each month’s tasting to a chapter of Jon’s beautifully written opus, The New French Wine—truly one of the best wine books I have read recently.

One of my favorite aspects of the book is how each region is set in historical context and how today’s dominant narratives either align with that history or contravene it—particularly in regions with sleek, modern messaging designed by current economic powers, such as Bordeaux. Even as a Master of Wine who has studied the region closely, I had no idea how profound the changes were on the Right Bank of Bordeaux after the devastating frosts of 1956.

In fact, prior to the frosts, the most widely planted grapes in Saint-Émilion—perhaps the marquee appellation for Merlot—were actually Malbec and Cabernet Franc. Alas, Malbec, which pushes out early, bore the brunt of the 1956 killing frosts, and the appellation was subsequently replanted with the later-budding and more stylistically malleable Merlot.

I find this a shame because I believe—and this might be an unpopular opinion—that Malbec has significantly more personality than Merlot. At its best, it possesses a wild aromatic character akin to other deeply colored grapes such as Touriga Nacional or Syrah, combined with a blackberry- and mulberry-driven fruit profile. In many ways, it seems a natural partner to the elegant, taming influence of precise and perfumed Cabernet Franc.

In 2023, we happened to have some of the best Cabernet Franc in the state in the cellar from Oakville, along with the strongest lot of Malbec we have seen from the stony Lazy Dog Vineyard in Sonoma Valley. It seemed only fitting to make a small amount of wine in the image of what pre-1956 Right Bank Bordeaux might have looked like. The result, for me, is one of the most delicious and interesting wines we made in 2023. Production is tiny—only 648 bottles.

2020 Calico Syrah , California

Yes, you read that right—2020 Syrah.

We’ve been sitting on this one patiently, tasting it every six months or so, and watching it evolve from the generously perfumed but densely structured pup it was at bottling into the far more complete wine it has become nearly five years after harvest.

Composed entirely of fruit from the Santa Barbara appellations of Santa Maria, Alisos Canyon, and Ballard Canyon, it saw about 20% whole-cluster fermentation and underwent extended aging in large-format barrels.

This is a larger-scale wine by Bedrock standards—perhaps more in line with our 2007–2013 era—featuring heftier fruit and a riper profile. It pushes into dark-fruited territory alongside classic Santa Barbara Syrah perfume: dried herbs, licorice, abundant black olive, and a savory, bresaola-like cured meat character.

This is, to borrow one of the famous critic Robert Parker’s favorite descriptors, a hedonistic Syrah—one built around opulence and pleasure.

2024 Old Vine Zinfandel , California

Every vintage of Old Vine Zinfandel offers a new opportunity for us to craft a fantastic value wine from the grape that has defined California wine since the 1850s. Our goal is to create a wine that reflects the sunlight and warmth of the state, while also showcasing the sometimes-overlooked strengths of the variety: natural acidity, spice, and nuance.

More than that, we aim for this wine to be considered one of the greatest values in the world—a wine that consistently overdelivers for its price point. It’s a bottle appreciated by the wine cognoscenti but also welcoming to newcomers.

To that end, 79% of the fruit in this bottling comes from vineyards we farm ourselves, spread across Sonoma County, Lodi, and Contra Costa County.

In 2024, the blend comprises 69% Sonoma County, 18% Mokelumne River, and 13% Contra Costa County. Vineyard sources include Sodini Ranch on Limerick Lane, Katushas’, Nervo Ranch, Evangelho, Teldeschi, Beeson, Papera, Old Hill, Banfield, and Bedrock.

Deep-fruited and spicy, this is unapologetically unadorned Zinfandel—briary, fresh, and filled with expressive aromatics. It was fermented entirely with indigenous yeasts and raised predominantly in older, large-format barrels and foudres.

This is also the first time we have made a small amount Old Vine in 3 liter box available. Like the rosé, putting wine in box format significantly lowers the packaging carbon footprint and extends the drinking window by a month once open. Because we rely on an outside bottler for BiB we did run this portion through a filter which makes it ever-so-slightly softer in structure, which is actually a bit of a benefit as we recommend drinking this in the first year of its life.

Blend Breakdown:
96% Zinfandel, 4% mixed reds
69% Sonoma County, 18% Mokelumne River, 13% Contra Costa County
Leading vineyards: 26% Sodini Ranch, 18% Katushas’, 13% Nervo, 13% Evangelho, 11% Teldeschi, 8% Beeson, with additional fruit from Papera, Old Hill, Banfield, and Bedrock
79% of the fruit comes from vineyards we farm

2024 Katushas’ Zinfandel , Mokelumne River

We’ve been extremely pleased with both the wines and the reception they’ve received from this vineyard over the past few years, and we believe the 2024 vintage is a worthy successor to those that came before.

The vineyard—planted in the 1910s in a wind-blown oxbow of the Mokelumne River in eastern Lodi—is the only old-vine site in the region using organic, no-till, animal-integrated farming. (For those wondering how to pronounce Mokelumne, there’s actually a YouTube video—God bless technology.)

Since implementing these regenerative techniques, we’ve seen improvements in plant health, more refined flavor development, and slower ripening compared to previous years.

The result is a wine that showcases the generous plum and cherry fruit and fine tannins typical of vines grown on sandy soils, while also retaining freshness and perfume—for us, exactly what the best of Lodi can offer.

This is one of our favorite options for a wine that delivers straight-up fruit deliciousness shortly after release, but that also gains complexity with time in bottle.

2024 Evangelho Heritage Wine , Contra Costa County

81% Zinfandel, 11% Carignan, 6% Mourvedre, 2% Alicante Bouschet

When Chris and I made the decision to purchase Evangelho Vineyard back in 2017, we did so knowing that vines in the area were under continual threat from development. Since then, it feels as though that pressure has been turbocharged. With BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) trains expanding eastward, and amid a much-discussed housing crisis, development pressures have escalated. As a result, we have seen vineyard after vineyard fall to the bulldozer. Some of these casualties—such as Turley’s esteemed Salvador Vineyard—are well known, but many more are anonymous losses.

Most recently, a long-time staple of our Ode to Lulu rosĂ©, Live Oak, was torn out to make way for housing. The vineyard across the drive from Evangelho—once part of the same property decades ago—was also removed to accommodate warehousing. Increasingly, we see Evangelho as a 21st-century version of the children’s book The Little House: a vital remnant of a previous age, clinging to life in the face of an unrelenting excavator powered by human desperation.

One of my favorite aspects of being at Evangelho, however, is how stubbornly nature endures. Jackrabbits flee the shade of the vines as you approach, coyotes howl at night, and, to quote our friend and client Rory Williams of Frog’s Leap, after he delivered picking boxes at dusk,“It is like owl city out there!” Indeed, almost all of our owl boxes are now fully occupied by ecologically vital barn owls. It is one of our greatest points of pride—and a credit to Jake and Casey on the viticulture team—that Evangelho looks better today than it did even six years ago.

In the 2024 vintage, we chose to lean more heavily into the Zinfandel component than in previous years, as we observed an exceptional degree of brightness and energy, even by Evangelho standards. Interestingly, the Carignan—normally a minor player in the blend—was as deeply colored as we can recall, lending a strong central weight to the wine. Meanwhile, Mourvùdre played a lesser role than it has in some past vintages.

The result is a classic Evangelho expression, filled with elegant fruit and the signature salted plum and nori/wakame notes imparted by the nearby Delta. As always, no new oak was used; we prefer to let the elegant structure imparted by the deep sands and the graceful fruit speak for themselves, undisturbed by the often intrusive structural and toasty elements introduced by oak.

2024 Dolinsek Ranch Heritage Wine , Russian River Valley

Vintage after vintage, the 1910-planted vines at Dolinsek Ranch continue to deliver exceptional fruit. Picked on September 13th, these tiny vines—rooted in sandy Goldridge soils—produced a modest yield of one ton per acre, offering densely packed and thrillingly vibrant fruit. A field blend based around Zinfandel this wine also contains Alicante, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Golden Chasselas/Palomino and even a small amount of Barbera and Black Muscat.

This is a classic Dolinsek, and it reminds me of the original 2009 vintage, with its beautifully defined blueberry and blackberry fruit laced with anise and even a note reminiscent of lavender oil. Though generously fruited, the wine also possesses vibrant acidity and sneaky, well-integrated tannins that allow it to age in a way that has surprised us.

We almost always describe this as a wine best enjoyed in its youth for its sheer deliciousness, but both the bottles we have opened and the notes we have seen on CellarTracker and WineBerserkers suggest that this wine can also age gracefully.

2024 Carlisle Zinfandel , Russian River Valley

Carlisle Vineyard lies to the east of Dolinsek Ranch, on the other side of the Laguna de Santa Rosa, atop heavier clay soils. Though predominantly Zinfandel, the 1927-planted vines at Carlisle feature a stunning array of interplanted varieties (more than 40 in total) that add layers of complexity. Think of it as a pinch of salt and pepper, or cinnamon and nutmeg, or even gochujang and Sichuan peppercorns—you choose the metaphor—woven into the rich core of Piner-Olivet Zinfandel fruit.

I love Carlisle because, as a wine, it feels like a perfect warm hug—something deeply familiar, with the emphasis on perfectly.

It was picked just 24 hours before Dolinsek Ranch, so if you’re looking for a fun dinner-party comparison, try tasting the two side by side. You’ll experience a fantastic contrast between two great, ancient vineyards growing just a few miles apart, yet rooted in vastly different soils and exposures—sandy and north-facing versus clay-rich and flat.

2024 Old Hill Ranch Heritage , Sonoma Valley

I obviously love all facets of harvest and all the vineyards we choose to work with. However, for me—perhaps even more than Bedrock or Evangelho—the best part of harvest is encapsulated by the morning of the Old Hill pick.

My first memories of sticky-handed harvest mornings are from here, after my dad began working with the already venerable vines in the early 1980s. I imagine that JP, who has attended every pick since he was born in 2020, will one day have fond memories of this sacred place as well. Some places just feel a little deeper, a little more resonant—and Old Hill is one of those spots.

Beyond that, in nearly every vintage, it produces one of the best wines in California. That’s a remarkable way to share the alchemy of site with the world. The 2024 vintage is no different; it is, without question, one of the wines of the year.

Endlessly dense, yet detailed and ethereal, Old Hill sings the story of Sonoma Valley—up the mountainside to the east where its soils once tumbled from, and over the mountains to the west, toward the broad Pacific beyond.

2024 Shake Ridge Barbera , Amador County

We love that this wine has become as popular with the mailing list as it is internally at the winery. There’s something magical about Barbera grown in the granitic soils of Amador County.

Here, the often-fiery daytime temperatures help modulate the variety’s famously high acidity while infusing the vibrant, juicy red fruit with structure and herbal aromatics—classic foothill garrigue. For us, this is mountain Barbera done California-style, and it makes for one incredibly satisfying wine.

Said another way, for the Italophiles among us: this leans more toward the power of Alba than the finesse of Asti, yet remains light on its feet thanks to its bright, natural acidity.

The wine was fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged in a combination of neutral puncheons and 1,000-liter foudres.

2023 Teldeschi Ranch Heritage Wine, Dry Creek Valley

As one of the final heritage wines being released from the 2023 vintage, the Teldeschi Ranch is a stunner. Going back to its first vintage in 2007—when it was called Lorenzo’s Heirloom—the wines from this ancient, dry-farmed vineyard tend to be among the most potent and muscular of our heritage offerings.

The 2023 is endowed with the textbook Bing cherry fruit and cracked black pepper of Dry Creek’s gravelly eastern bench, along with the leavening fruit from Carignan and the density from Petite Sirah. Not to be too sentimental, but 2023 was also the vintage when Sophia Teldeschi—John Teldeschi’s daughter, Frank Teldeschi’s granddaughter, and Lorenzo Teldeschi’s great-granddaughter—worked harvest in the cellar with us, doing punchdowns and pumpovers on her family’s fruit. It’s hard to believe a little extra love didn’t find its way into this wine.

2024 Bedrock Vineyard Carignan, Sonoma Valley

Given that this release newsletter focuses on Bedrock Vineyard becoming Regenerative Organic Certified, it seemed only fitting to include a wine from the vineyard! This is the second consecutive year we’ve been able to bottle a small amount from the 1888-planted Carignan vines at Bedrock. For years, this fruit has been part of the “secret sauce” in the Bedrock Heritage Wine—providing deep purple color, spice, and lip-smacking freshness to the more Zinfandel-dominant blocks from the ranch.

However, it is also, year in and year out, some of the best Carignan—one of the most underrated grapes, in our opinion—in California and deserves a pedestal of its own. Fermented with 30% whole clusters and aged in neutral 300-liter barrels, this wine is dark in color and brimming with black raspberry fruit and spice.

To quote a note from CellarTracker on the 2023 vintage that I think really captures the essence of the wine:
The utterly glorious bottle is redolent of sweet blue and black fruits, violets, fresh linen on the line, dusty gravel road, a little sage and aloe vera, a little bloody grilled meat too


Spot on. We love great Carignan!

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As always, the notes are much appreciated, Morgan. I’m curious, how would you rank the zinfandels/zin blends from most fruit forward to most savory?