Wine Article
2018 Bedrock Wine Co. Heritage Wine Enz Vineyard
Last edited on 11/1/2022 by ancientvines
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From the Bedrock website:
This is the first vintage we got the opportunity to work with Enz Vineyard, one of the few GREAT old vine sites on the Central Coast. Located in a remote, golden valley on the eastern side of the Gabilan Range, the vineyard is technically in the Lime Kiln AVA—named for the limestone quarry and kiln just up the road from the vineyard. Planted on its own roots in limestone and granite derived sands in the 1920s, Enz is composed predominately of Mataro but also has Zinfandel, Cabernet Pfeffer and several other interplanted varieties. The wine is roughly the breakdown of the vineyard—about 70% Mataro, 20% Zinfandel and 10% Cabernet Pfeffer. And what exactly is Cabernet Pfeffer, one might ask? Despite much lore in the area as to its origins- some posit that it is a blend of Trousseau and Cabernet, some posit that it was crossed by a gent named William Pfeffer, some say it was named Pfeffer because it is peppery and Pfeffer means pepper in German- it is, based on PCR analysis, actually an obscure variety from the southwest of France called Mourtaou. There is a not much of it in California, but most of it is in the area of Cienega Valley (there is some at Wirz as well) so is definitely a hallmark of this remote viticultural area.
This is the first vintage we got the opportunity to work with Enz Vineyard, one of the few GREAT old vine sites on the Central Coast. Located in a remote, golden valley on the eastern side of the Gabilan Range, the vineyard is technically in the Lime Kiln AVA—named for the limestone quarry and kiln just up the road from the vineyard. Planted on its own roots in limestone and granite derived sands in the 1920s, Enz is composed predominately of Mataro but also has Zinfandel, Cabernet Pfeffer and several other interplanted varieties. The wine is roughly the breakdown of the vineyard—about 70% Mataro, 20% Zinfandel and 10% Cabernet Pfeffer. And what exactly is Cabernet Pfeffer, one might ask? Despite much lore in the area as to its origins- some posit that it is a blend of Trousseau and Cabernet, some posit that it was crossed by a gent named William Pfeffer, some say it was named Pfeffer because it is peppery and Pfeffer means pepper in German- it is, based on PCR analysis, actually an obscure variety from the southwest of France called Mourtaou. There is a not much of it in California, but most of it is in the area of Cienega Valley (there is some at Wirz as well) so is definitely a hallmark of this remote viticultural area.