Tired of decrepit old wines, I cracked last night:
BedrockWineCo Heritage EvangelhoVnyd/ContraCosta RW (14.2%; www.BedrockWineCo.com; Drk: now-2020: MTP) 2012: Very dark color; some Am.oak/toasty strong plummy/boysenberry/Mourv some spicy/mushroomy/ContraCosta quite dusty/OV lush/ripe nose; rather soft/lush strong plummy/Mourv/boysenberry/Zin bit DrPepper/blackberry cola/tangy fairly spicy bit earthy/mushroomy flavor w/ light/soft/round tannins; very long rather earthy/dusty/OV mushroomy/ContraCosta fairly plummy/Mourv/boysenberry slight tangy/grapefruity some DrPepper/black cherry cola light toasty/oak finish w/ light/plush tannins; reminds me a bit of the old Ridge Mataros w/o the oak but a bit more structured & high-toned; quite a lovely lush red that speaks mostly of Mourv w/ not so mich high-toned Zin notes. $30.00
Thanks for the note Tom. And yes, lots of carignane and Mourvèdre in that one. No American oak though, about 15% new French. I would agree that the oak is sitting a little awkwardly on it like most American oak does on any wine
I have been patiently sitting on this one, having learned my lesson from burning through the '11s too fast. Any recommendation as far as when best to crack this bottle, guys?
Shared a bottle of this with Morgan and Chris in the vines a couple of weeks ago, and it was absolutely magic. Still a little tight, but on day two, this bottle was kicking ass and taking names. I’m really upset with myself for not ordering more from the fall offer last year.
Up until this year I had never bought an American Oak barrel as I generally find the impression it leaves to be too obtrusive. I find that it does the opposite of what I am looking for oak to do which is to be overtly aromatic (and too often in a coconut, dill, lactone, way) rather than give a little boost to mid-palate fruit sweetness while leaving the aromatics unencumbered. Though I think this can work on some Cabernet based wines (Monte Bello being the most obvious) I think it really screws up aromatics in most other varieties to the point where it starts pulling vineyard site out of focus. That said, some of this has to do with the development of American oak versus French when it comes to wood selection, aging, toasting, etc… The high impact looked for in bourbon barrels, also of American oak and the foundation of the U.S. coopering tradition, works great for that enterprise as the best bourbons spend so much time in barrel, integrating and subtly changing over time. Even with French oak I have found that I am moving towards less oak (on average about 20% new oak now versus 40% when I started), and also towards longer aging of the wood (3 yr minimum, to increase the leaching of green character from the wood and make tannin influence more subtle) and lighter toast (more medium and light toast). After tasting some American Oak barrels at Turley, where 5% of the new wood and 20% of the total cooperage used is American oak, we decided to trial a few Canton (partnered with Taransaud) barrels this year. Two of the barrels were from 48 month aged wood and two were from 60 month aged wood, which is really, really long by industry standards. So far, I am generally impressed, though they are still potent in their flavor contribution and I am reserving full judgment until I see them with more time in barrel.
Hey Tom- I loved the note. I would point out that vanilla can very much be associated with French oak as well. I generally find a more coconut/dill/whiskey barrel lactone character from American oak to accompany the vanillin. But that is just me. You have likely tasted far more than me!
Thanks, Morgan. That was a great post. When/ if released, I hope you let us know which wine the American oak is used on, so we can experiment ourselves.
