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| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.1 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 24 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Discobiscuits42 on 12/29/2023: Vagenius pegged this wine well. Fig is the dominant theme, very interesting. Unfortunately, it’s simply too sweet and doesn’t have the acidity to balance it. This wine is a what could have been. Day 2 -- still quite sweet, what little structure there was is gone making the sweetness even more prevalent. Don't see much value to holding beyond the relative short term. (1264 views) | | | Tasted by joraesque on 11/25/2023: Starting to get slightly flabby, perhaps. Drink up. (1429 views) | | | Tasted by VAGenius on 11/9/2023 & rated 93 points: PnP, though it needed a couple minutes in glass to blow off some funk. Nose of red raspberry, figs, pipe tobacco, and red roses. Palate is quite sweet, showing red raspberry jam with impressive depth before a strong baking spice element kicks in. Wide, broad, soft tannins and rocky notes start the finish, adding cherry pie, rhubarb pie, and some candied notes before oak and a touch of earth arrives, with acidity lingering long. (1485 views) | | | Tasted by joraesque on 10/27/2023 & rated 89 points: Fresh oregano, wild cherry pastille, and a hint of licorice. Outstanding character and excellent value. 13.5% ABV. (1461 views) | | | Tasted by tomlee on 9/8/2023 & rated 94 points: Ruby red in color. 14.5% ABV. Intriguing nose of red fruits, citrus and baking spices. Medium body with perfect acidity. Light, crisp and fresh. Cherries, blood orange, cranberry and earth on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish. Just a brilliant, Claret style Zinfandel that you could drink all day. Best over the next 2-3 years. (1685 views) | | | Tasted by mark.gularte@gmail.com on 9/7/2023 & rated 90 points: 9 months since my last tasting, continues to develop nicely, I get more full raspberry now, and the spice is more prominent on the finish. (1378 views) | | | Tasted by Mootsie on 2/23/2023 & rated 92 points: Very distinctive with a raspberry entry followed by big spice, cedar and sage note. The herbaceous really stands out. (2318 views) | | | Tasted by VAGenius on 1/8/2023 & rated 91 points: PnP. Nose of cherry, red fruits, and rustic spice. Punchy red cherry and red raspberry fruit shows a touch of effervescence, though that dissipates with air, along with lavender, lilac, cranberry and a touch of cardamom. Layers of tannin with bright and tart red fruit flavors, pipe tobacco, and a long line of acidity and earth. Decant if drinking in the short term but a another year would help. 91+ points. (2385 views) | | | Tasted by mark.gularte@gmail.com on 12/16/2022 & rated 90 points: Inspiring aroma of red fruits and sage, cherry on the palate, body is light and airy, drinking well now, but shows promise for the next few years. (2135 views) | | | Tasted by Mike Dildine on 9/22/2022 & rated 93 points: Light on its feet with intense flavors. This is really very nice and ready to drink now. (2271 views) | | | Tasted by Asull2k on 9/18/2022 & rated 89 points: Medium ruby and garnet color. Raspberry jam, dried cranberry, alcohol on the nose despite letting it open for hours. Red cassis, raspberry, dried cranberry on the palate that turns into a black pepper finish lasting around 30 sec. Probably a good pairing with tomato-based sauces. (2226 views) | | | Tasted by Eatmypixels on 4/4/2022 & rated 90 points: Could be much higher. young. Have five more. Long time to open. Nice balance sour cherry that developed into nice acid over a long time. Very good friendly. Not overly big. Balanced. Will wait years on the next one. But this could be really good. (2593 views) | | | Tasted by SH Wu on 2/19/2022 & rated 89 points: Savory herbal notes blend with raisins and dried cranberries on the nose and palate. The savory earthiness with sufficient acidity made it a perfect pairing with pizza.
Very drinkable after 2 days, but could still grow with more cellar time. (2690 views) | | | Tasted by guillermo- on 2/16/2022: Tasted over two nights. PNP the first night. Didn't use a decanter but gave it hours of uncorked air the second. CLOSED. Even on the second night. As in not open for business. Do not attempt until at least 2023, but 2024 is a safer bet.
A relatively brightly-colored, shimmering and savory style of Zinfandel from the 2020 banner vintage at Esola vineyard and Amador County's Shenandoah Valley in general.
Expertly balanced. I think everything is there for an outstanding Old World crossover once the tannins mellow out a bit, but they need to because this is not a fruit-forward wine. As it stands, I could barely tease out nuances in the red fruit under the spice, herbal and earthy notes. It's like California Zinfandel's answer to classically-produced Barolo.
At this early point in its development, it did much better in a Bordeaux/Cab glass than in a Pinot/Burgundy glass. I might even serve it in a universal glass next time (or follow my own advice and wait until 2024 and serve it in a Cab glass again).
Reserving a score until it resolves a bit, but expect it to be in the mid 90's once it does.
14.5% ABV.
(I see there are only 447 bottles entered into CT and can't help but think too many people will miss out on what I suspect will likely be, in retrospect, Bedrock's wine of the vintage; but I won't make that call officially until I have the tasted all the others.) (2706 views) | | | Tasted by JustinRohrman on 11/8/2021: Good acid / fruit balance. The tannins are present, but not over-powering. Some herbal notes. I drank over 3 nights, and it developed a little each day. This is not a super ripe, overly- structured zin. Delicious now, but could lay down for a while, too. (2886 views) | | | Tasted by zscheiner on 10/24/2021: Another great vintage of Esola, one of my favorite Bedrocks. Beautiful nose as always, I couldn’t get my face far enough into the decanter after pouring it. Pleasantly surprised to taste spice and herb notes along with the usual high-toned red fruit. There’s great depth and texture here, with fine tannins that carry the fruit through the finish. Drinking well now and I’m sure for many years. (2442 views) | | | Tasted by FiggySmalls on 10/24/2021: drinking well on the second day. so much joy in the glass here!
intoxicating nose... like a bowl of prickly blackberries macerated with chartreuse, benedictine and grand marnier. drinks similarly for me. powerful, but not a bit of flab (2838 views) | | | Tasted by Jvskinn on 10/19/2021 & rated 91 points: This was a bit more on the savory side of the Bedrock wines I’ve had, in a beautiful way. There’s a delicious earthy funk, alongside some very light Anise and Orange peel. Then classic red brambly fruit, with a kiss of vanilla/oak. Maybe some green pepper? Lifted, light on its feet and drinkable. (2285 views) |
| By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, California North Coast: Eyes Wide Open (Jan 2022) (1/1/2022)
(Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Esola Vineyard Sonoma Red) Subscribe to see review text. |
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| Bedrock Wine Co. Producer website2020 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Esola VineyardFrom Denise Esola’s Zinfandel planted at 1600’ elevation in the center of the Shenandoah Valley appellation of Amador County. Always one of the most alluringly perfumed and exotic Zinfandels we make, the 2020 is particularly distinct even by this vineyard’s rather lofty standards. Planted on granite soils, the vineyard produces wines of beguilingly light color, crunchy red fruits, and stately structure that shimmer with nervous energy and tension. Aged primarily in 600-gallon foudres, this is Old World meets Gold Country.Zinfandel ZAP: Zinfandel Advocates & Producers | Varietal character (Appellation America) | Wikipedia-ZinfandelUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Sierra FoothillsAmador |
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