It’s not a bad cork the bottle is cracked. The styrofoam was busted up. I emailed photos to bedrock.
Case in point - opened a 14 OVZ yesterday and it was good. Today, it was excellent (like…substantially better). And this is from their entry level zin. These wines really do demand time…I highly recommend finding an older bottle at auction, and if you do open an 18 now, give it tons of air.
I go back a number of years with Bedrock…IMHO, the only new release Bedrocks I wd pop and pour wd be the Rose and the whites, all the rest need time…My rule of thumb is 5 years., still drinking my 2013’s.
The white wines age well also. The single-vineyard ones are awesome with some time. ‘12 Compagni was just great last week.
Some are gonna get better but all are going to be good. If you’re curious about how much you like the wine just pop some corks. Healthy decant if you feel like it but it’s going to taste good on pnp. Don’t overthink it.
My early experience with Bedrock was that I opened them too soon and thought they were meh. Did the same with Carlisle and actually dropped off the list because I wasn’t especially impressed. It wasn’t until I had each of these with 3-4 years of age that I ‘got it’. I increased my purchases of Bedrock and got back on the Carlisle list.
Rather than opening them early and being underwhelmed, I’d suggest cellaring them and either sourcing a couple with some age to try in the meantime (super easy at auction with almost no mark-up on most of them) and/or just being patient.
Even the rosé is better after a year in the cellar, but it’s at least close to being ready on release. The reds, to my palate, are released very early and just aren’t anywhere near ready.
This x 10000
Its so true - while the wines might be ‘ok’ early on…they’re a shell of themselves compared to 5+ years down the road. Again, I totally get wanting to open one now…just do yourself a solid and find an older one online. Pretty easy to do and wont set you back much.
I have opened numerous Bedrock wines directly on release or shortly thereafter, and only had one wine that I thought was “meh.” The rest were flat out gorgeous.
Different strokes.
I’ve only been buying Bedrock for a couple of years. I popped and drank many young because I wanted to try them. I enjoyed every one I tried, some more than others…those some I bought more of, which I think is the point. Would they have been better with age, probably. Did I enjoy them young, yes. If I had put them in the cellar and not tried them for 5 years would they have been better, probably. If I had done that would Bedrock sell more wine, no. Do you think they would like to sell more wine, yes. Do you think I would like to enjoy Bedrock, yes. Should we quit telling people who are brand new to Bedrock to shelve wines they’ve never had longer than they’ve never had them, yes. New people, like myself, should be encouraged to learn about these and draw informed conclusions. Not trying them for years hurts our learning…and Bedrocks bottom line. So again, pop what you want, drink what you want, learn, enjoy and buy more!
Always appreciate a good rant Mark, but I’d direct everyone back to Andrew’s previous post. Again, I totally get the point of a someone new to Bedrock wanting to take one for a test drive… but since it sounds like you’ve never tried one with some age on it, …I honestly think you’re missing out as well. Luckily you didnt seem to mind them young, but I think many others might be turned off by them. Take it from me and the handful of others on this thread who have been drinking these wines for a bit…they’re WAY better after some time in the bottle. Not trying to discourage anyone from ‘learning’ by any means, but I stand by my previous statement of finding a 2012 (or older) online to get a feel for how these age. If you like em…which I’m guessing you will…you can continue buying/supporting Bedrock so that you have delicious wines at very reasonable prices to drink down the road.
Rant over 
Really wasn’t intended as a rant, rather a perspective, you can buy some, pop a few young, cellar others and go from there. It doesn’t have to be an either/or but rather and and…do both, age some, drink some. While I appreciate and truly respect the opinions of people on this board, sometimes one must experience wine for themselves. Just one n00bs opinion.
I’m the one always going off on a Bedrock rant
Totally makes sense Mark and I get both sides of the coin here. At the end of the day, i feel that everyone who is interested in Bedrock should source an older bottle (if they havent already) so that you can get a feel for what some of us are talking about. I’d highly recommend anything from 2012 right now - every single one I’ve opened recently has been silly good.
Let me know of you’re ever in AZ Mark and we’ll pop some Bedrock!! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
We had a 2016 Sodini last night and I thought it was excellent. I haven’t had any of the other single vineyards earlier than this, but this was really good at 3 years on.
Totally understand where you are coming from Rich, but for me personally, its absurd for a new person to Bedrock to get a bunch of sub-$50 wines, some sub-$30 and not try them young. We all have different palates and in the end it’s a small price to pay to see where on the evolutionary scale you like Bedrock. I get sitting on some Grand Cru Burgundy, Classed Growths, whatever due to price, but to not try these young seems a shame.
Part of the adventure, and frankly most of the fun, is finding your way to where you have, knowing you like them at 7-12 years from vintage. Buying a 2012 doesn’t let you experience what it was like in 2013.
I am in same boat as Mark, new to Bedrock (shame on me), and I know wine fairly well and will open most of the wines I ordered young, while taking some sage advice from you and others and buying a couple older wines to see 3, 6, and 9 years for fun and to cement my thoughts on the 2018s and cellar time.
Yeah man, I totally get it and those are all valid points for sure. I can see wanting to open one super young to try and get a feel for them (again, I’d absolutley go OVZ or Dolinsek), especially since they’re fairly priced…but i think you’re spot on with also sourcing an older one to compare to a new release. These wines are truly built to age (much more so than their price point would leave many to believe), and as it sounds like you’re about to find out, taste night/day different 5+ years out. So much so that I could see alot of people dismissing the wines if they’ve only tried a recent vintage (i.e Andrew’s first Carlisle experiences)…which would be a damn shame as, to me, these are some of the most distinctive, well made, and flat out delicious wines being produced in CA.
Cheers man - make sure you report back after trying a few!
FWIW, popped a 2015 Bedrock Heritage tonight, and it has been stunning after about two hours (planned) of air.
I found Carlisle to be delicious young or with some age, surly in between, somewhat like my Sauternes/Champagne rule…drink em young, drink em old, don’t drink them in between.
Gotcha! Then you might actually dig some of the Bedrock wines early on. I’m with Andrew in that I like both Carlisle and Bedrock a lot more with some age…but either way, looking forward to hearing your thoughts after you pop/compare a few!
Wow… Lots of good advice out there. I appreciate it. I did crack an 18 OVZ and it was fine. Not a revelation, but solid and enjoyable.Not a Turley fruit bomb. I’ve been a long-time buyer of Carlisle, and I can’t keep my hands off of them. I’m trying not to drink my 16 Paparas right now (but failing). I suspect I will have the same problem with Bedrock. I have planned a trip to Sonoma next month and I will visit their tasting room so maybe I will be able to try some older bottles.