WTN: Bedrock, Orofino, Cébène

[Jenise]

Friends invite me over for ribs on Wednesday night so I took these two:

2020 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah California
Huge improvement over a tight bottle opened in May '24. Ample fruit, good body, ready.

2020 Orofino Vineyards Syrah Similkameen Valley
Light for a syrah with an impressively aromatic nose but just medium body and more acidity. Mild green notes become obvious when compared to the Bedrock, but it's not unpleasant.

After having some of each, I made a 50/50 blend--and that was the best glass yet.


Then last night I opened this little gem:

2015 Domaine de Cébène Faugères Les Bancels Red Rhone Blend, Languedoc (50 Syr, 35 Gren, 15 Mouv)
More dark fruit showing now than in past bottles, now it's tangy-spicy black currant with black pepper and herbs. Extremely attractive with good acidity and structure. I am going to be very sorry when these are gone. I've had several different wines from this producer, and she's a real class act.

Nice notes. Cebene is a new name to me. Been a while since I've had a Faugeres (excluding Ch Faugeres in St Emilion!)

[Jenise]

Dale, Cebene is the winery of Brigitte Chevalier who grew up in Bordeaux and previously made wine at Thunevin. Her goal has been to make northern style wines in the south--the syrah and grenache in this blend come from cooler north-facing vineyards and her property is all schist soils. Every wine I've had from her exceeds expectations for Languedoc wines, including the 100% '14 Mourvedre I took to Oregon last weekend to go with a meal in a French restaurant in Carlton and provide relief from the pinot-centric trip we were having. Jancis is a big fan.

[David M. Bueker]

I think I still have 7 bottles of that Bedrock. I have always liked it.