Wine Article
2012 Under The Wire Sparkling Rosé Bedrock Vineyard
Last edited on 7/22/2014 by PSUSteve
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From release newsletter:
2012 Bedrock Sparkling Old Vine Zinfandel
Sonoma Valley California. Disgorged April 2014. 2 grams per liter dosage. $42
Many of you who are loyal Bedrock fans know the vineyard well. Originally planted in 1854 by Generals William “Tecumseh” Sherman and General “Fightin’ Joe” Hooker, Bedrock has grown grapes for over 150 years. In all likelihood, at some point in Bedrock's long history, sparkling wine was made from the vineyard's grapes. Out of the 24 old vine varieties grown at Bedrock Vineyard today, we chose to use Zinfandel. It is a grape that is not only decidedly Californian, but also surprisingly well built for sparkling wine. Bedrock Vineyard’s ancient vines tends towards both great flavor development at low sugars and strong natural acidity. The vines are head trained, grown in rock studded red Tuscan loam soils and produce a small amount of rather precious fruit.
We picked the grapes at 19.5 brix, whole cluster pressed them to reveal a light pink color which reminds us of the non-saignee Roses from Champagne. The wine was fermented in a combination of stainless steal barrels and old oak barrels. It was bottled in April 2013 for secondary fermentation and disgorged in April of this year. We disgorged this wine earlier, as we wanted to capture its charming personality and freshness that has so excited us from the moment the juice came out of the press.
Although we were not exactly confident at the start of our Zinfandel experiment, we promise you that this will be a staple of the Under The Wire line up forever. Color is not a driving factor for us, but damn, does this wine look pretty in a glass. Fennel, peach, orange and cherry skin. The acidity has a stony clay minerality that speaks to the vineyards soils. We couldn't be happier with the result and only wish we had made more.
2012 Bedrock Sparkling Old Vine Zinfandel
Sonoma Valley California. Disgorged April 2014. 2 grams per liter dosage. $42
Many of you who are loyal Bedrock fans know the vineyard well. Originally planted in 1854 by Generals William “Tecumseh” Sherman and General “Fightin’ Joe” Hooker, Bedrock has grown grapes for over 150 years. In all likelihood, at some point in Bedrock's long history, sparkling wine was made from the vineyard's grapes. Out of the 24 old vine varieties grown at Bedrock Vineyard today, we chose to use Zinfandel. It is a grape that is not only decidedly Californian, but also surprisingly well built for sparkling wine. Bedrock Vineyard’s ancient vines tends towards both great flavor development at low sugars and strong natural acidity. The vines are head trained, grown in rock studded red Tuscan loam soils and produce a small amount of rather precious fruit.
We picked the grapes at 19.5 brix, whole cluster pressed them to reveal a light pink color which reminds us of the non-saignee Roses from Champagne. The wine was fermented in a combination of stainless steal barrels and old oak barrels. It was bottled in April 2013 for secondary fermentation and disgorged in April of this year. We disgorged this wine earlier, as we wanted to capture its charming personality and freshness that has so excited us from the moment the juice came out of the press.
Although we were not exactly confident at the start of our Zinfandel experiment, we promise you that this will be a staple of the Under The Wire line up forever. Color is not a driving factor for us, but damn, does this wine look pretty in a glass. Fennel, peach, orange and cherry skin. The acidity has a stony clay minerality that speaks to the vineyards soils. We couldn't be happier with the result and only wish we had made more.