2017 Bedrock Wine Co. Old Vine Zinfandel

• By Antonio Galloni
  Best New Releases from Sonoma and Beyond (May 2019), 5/1/2019, (See more on Vinous...)

  (Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Old Vine California Red) Login and sign up and see review text.

Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull California Love, 4/11/2019

  (Bedrock Wine Co. Old Vine Zinfandel) Hello friends. Today we have a survey of our neighbor two doors down, featuring one terrific up-and-comer working with extremely old fruit – Bedrock – and one classic of the genre: Chappellet. Wine Spectator: Copyrighted material withheld. Morgan Twain-Peterson MW is a second generation Cali winemaker, the son of Ravenswood founder Joel Peterson (the family sold Ravenswood in 2001). He founded Bedrock Wine Company in 2007, after first trying to escape his winemaking roots (he’s notorious for making the Vino Bambino Pinot Noir as a five-year-old) by studying history and American studies at Vassar and then at Columbia, and then accepting the gravitational pull of winemaking, returning to California in 2005. Here is how he introduces this wine (this doubles as an introduction to Bedrock’s main raison d’etre: rehabbing and expressing old California Zinfandel sites): I am incredibly proud of this wine.  I have said it here before but it bears repeating—even though this is one of the least expensive wines we make, in many ways it is the most important.  First, it is the one Bedrock wine that trickles out to most markets, so if someone gets introduced to our wines, there is a good chance it is this one. As such, it has to be reflective of the style we place value on.  Second, this is the wine that allows us to rehab old vineyards by giving us a place to put the fruit while we upgrade farming, pruning, and soil health; at an average of 80 years of age, these lovely old vines appreciate the attention.  Third, we now farm over 50% of the fruit that goes into this bottling, which allows us to make the hard farming decisions (dropping fruit, picking in multiple passes, etc.) to ensure we get the quality we need. Fourth, it is a statewide blend of vines, which means we can flex towards the strengths of a vintage.  In 2017 we were able to put extra focus on the great quality in Contra Costa County (27%), Dry Creek (12%), Sonoma Valley (17%), Alexander Valley (11%), and Lodi (10%) to create a delicious, balanced and juicy wine. Fifth, we want this wine to spread the gospel of Zinfandel from California, and as such this sees fruit from great sites such as Evangelho, Bedrock, Nervo Ranch, Teldeschi Ranch, Sodini and Pato Vineyard.  The final wine is roughly 86% Zinfandel, 5% Petite Sirah, and 5% Carignan, with the balance being Alicante Bouschet and all the other crazy and lovely field-blended varieties found in our old vineyards. Drink 2019-2030. This begins with an unmistakable Zin nose, combining brambly berry fruit, black cherries, and savory tomato-leaf and fennel and earth nuance. It’s texturally wonderful, easily fanning out and coating every corner of the palate with intense, delicious fruit. All that on a frame (14.4% listed alc) that is not overly heavy or alcoholic, problems that can sometimes plague this category. I included California Zinfandel in the July chapter of my book, alongside a meal featuring a Red-Blooded American Cheeseburger and Grilled Corn with Pasture Butter and Smoked Sea Salt. It’s a hedonistic American pairing to be sure, and one that I suggested should be served “with a sidecar of Lipitor and a long nap in a hammock.” Sounds like summer. We also have access to a miniscule number of bottles of three successive vintages of Chappellet’s crown jewel.