We tried last week (9/7/11) Mostly Bedrock Wines:
1. Bedrock Lorenzo'sHeirloom DryCreekVlly RW (110 yr old vnyd; 10 brls; 14.5%; 14.2%; 50% Zin/
25% Carignan/20% PS + 5% AlicanteBouschet, Cinsault, Valdigue; SaH: 22.9 Brix) 2009: Very dark color;
strong blackberry/Zin/black cherry/spicy dusty/old vine/loamy fairly complex nose; fairly tart some
blackberry/Zin/spicy/black cherry dusty/old vine somewhat tannic/hard/tight quite spicy/earthy complex
flavor; rather long fairly tannic/hard strong blackberry/black cherry dusty/old vine earthy/loamy quite
spicy bit licorice complex finish; speaks of both Zin and Carignane; a bit more rustic/coarse than his Zins;
needs several yrs to round out a bit; reminds me some of a young Geyserville from back in the '70's; not
the bright raspberry fruit typical of DCV Zin and probably more an expression of Lorenzo's. $35.00
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2. Bedrock Syrah KickRanch/SonomaCnty (15.1%; 5% Viog co-frmtd; 8 brls; Clones 877, 470, 383;
7 brls) 2009: Very dark color; strong blackberry/Syrah slight smokey/roasted rather spicy slight alcoholic
attractive nose; tart strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/spicy slight smokey/pungent some tannic flavor;
med.long strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/spicy slight smokey/pungent some tannic finish; needs 2-5 yrs;
plenty of Syrah fruit but a bit on the blocky/simple side; nice Syrah for the price. $30.00
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3. Bedrock Syrah HudsonVnyd North/T-Block/Carneros (14.8%; Planted in 1993; 4% Viog; 2 600-l
Demi-Muids+2 brls; 2 tons/acre; SaH: 24.6 Brix) 2009: Very dark color; very strong cold-climate/roasted/
bacon fat/herbal light blackberry/Syrah quite complex rather Rhonish nose; fairly tart bit tannic textured
strong cold-climate/roasted/bacon/herbal some blackberry/Syrah complex flavor; very long strong cold-climate/
bacon/herbal/roasted/mocha/coffee some blackberry/Syrah some tannic finish; needs 2-5 yrs; lots of cold-climate
Syrah character more like LasMadras than Hudson. $39.00
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4. Bedrock Syrah HudsonVnyd North/Carneros "Pleine de Chene" (15.1%; Alban slctn; SaH: 24.9 Brix) 2009: Very dark
color; lovely smokey/roasted/Rhonish/mocha/coffee/espresso some blackberry/Syrah beautiful complex nose; bit softer
very strong Rhonish/roasted/bacon/smokey/mocha/espresso slight blackberry/Syrah bit tannic flavor; very long fairly
smooth/textured very strong Rhonish/roasted/espresso/smokey/espresso/bacon light blackberry complex finish w/ light
tannins; a beautiful very Rhonish-style Syrah; my favorite of the Bedrocks. $39.00
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5. BedrockWineCo Syrah HudsonVnydNorth/Carneros "Cofermented" (100% destemmed; 5% Viog;
one new puncheon/2 new brls; 14.8%) 2008: Dark color; very intense musty/corked/TCA no fruit
nose; very strong musty/TCA-tainted no fruit flavor; one of the unredeemably corked wines of
late w/ nothing underneath. Too bad. $39.00
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6. BedrockWineCo Syrah HudsonVnydNorth/Carneros "Whole Cluster" (75% whole clusters; 600
liter demi-muid) 2008: Dark color; strong cold-climate/spicy/peppery/herbal/bacon fat/bit Rhonish some blackberry/Syrah/
spicy somewhat complex nose; some tart bit hard/tannic strong cold-climate/herbal/peppery/bacon/mocha some blackberry/
Syrah/spicy flavor; long some blackberry/Syrah/spicy somewhat cold-climate/peppery/herbal/ruhbarb/mocha somewhat tannic/
hard slight stemmy/green/herbal finish; more expressive of cold-climate Syrah and less of the Rhonish character that's
in the other Hudson Syrahs, needs 3-6 yrs of age. $39.00
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7. BedrockWineCo Syrah HudsonVnydNorth/Carneros "Pleine de Chene" (15.1%; fermtd in 100%
new puncheons & brls; 2 brls) 2008: Dark color; strong cold-climate/peppery/roasted/espresso/mocha/bacon/Rhonish
slight peppery/blackberry/Syrah/spicy smokey complex nose; tart bit tannic more balanced quite Rhonish/roasted/
mocha/bacon fat light blackberry/peppery/Syrah/spicy/thyme/pungent more balanced/smooth complex flavor; very long
Rhonish/roasted/bacon/espresso light blackberry/Syrah/peppery finish w/ modest tannins; much more Rhonish and
smooth/balanced than #6; lovely Rhonish Syrah, needs 2-5 yrs of age. $39.00
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9. Vino Sapien Wine Co Grenache Grandaddy Grenache (33% Larner/67% Thompson vnyds) 2009: Med.color;
some strawberry/Grenache rather ruhbarb/spicy slight candied light toasty/oak rather attractive nose;
soft light tannic rather bright/strawberry/Grenache slight candied/earthy light toasty/oak very nice flavor;
med.long candied/strawberry/Grenache light toasty/oak finish w/ modest tannins; a rather pretty medium-weight
rendition of Grenache. $25.00
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And the usual nonsense from the BloodyPulpit:
1. The VinoSapien wine is the label of MattBrady, asst winemaker at Jaffurs. I liked this Grenache a lot better than
his Pinot that Larry brought back last winter.
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2. Bedrock: This was my first time w/ all the Bedrock Syrahs. The KickRanch was pleasant enough, but more in the
style of Morgan's Zins w/o the interest they carry. The remaining Syrahs were all from LeeHudson's vnyd in the
Carneros. One of the best cold-climate Syrah vnyds in Calif. And Morgan's wines reflected that fact. They were very
Rhonish in character and reminded me a lot of the Arnot-Roberts and WindGap Syrahs, which are also quite Rhonish,
but w/o the sometimes strident acidic streak those wines can sometimes show. Seems that Morgan is doing as well
w/ his Syrahs, though stylistically different, than he is w/ the Zins.
Tom