2008 Cabernet Recap

In sheer amount, Cabernet represents a small proportion of Bedrock Wine Co. efforts.  However, in terms of time, money, and worry, is takes up a drastically larger share.  The reason for this is simple– Cabernet is a higher stakes game in some ways.  There is less room for error and less room for experimentation.  In a year of climatic flux, the worry only mounted.  However, the end results are excellent– particularly the components of the Bedrock Vineyard effort.  Currently, the Monte Rosso Cabernet is still in tank undergoing a pretty serious extended maceration– the first time I have undertaken such a thing.  The elements of the Bedrock are resting sur lies right now in 100% new wood.

Bedrock Cabernet Blend

Merlot was the most effected by the heat spikes of hot weather, and is the only element here that has some of warm-year characteristics– i.e. slightly baked and slightly green.  That said, it is certainly not terrible, but will probably only end up being a small portion of the final blend.  It is currently in two new barrels– one Darnajou M+ and one Boutes Grand Reserve.

Petit Verdot:  This is the first year I have taken this varietal from the vineyard.  I designated several rows to myself and thinned it to one cluster/shoot (or about 2 tons/ acre).  Classically one of the last things to ripen, this was just pressed off a few days ago.  I am absolutely thrilled with it.  It is practically black, and has unreal aromatics of leather, spice, and a gamey-savage component that is like a mythical crossing of Cornas and ripe St. Emilion Merlot.  It is going to make an exceptional addition to the wine.  It was barreled down to a new Marcel Cadet barrel from Dargaud and Jaegle, and a new Boutes Grand Reserve barrel.  Some of this will find its way into the Monte Rosso as well I am sure.

Cabernet Sauvignon:  Last year I split the Cabernet between block 7, an old phylloxerated block of Clone 6 (Jackson clone) and Block 2 (a younger block of 181).  This year, I sourced exclusively from Block 47.  On the southerly side of the ranch it is a pretty, gently westerly sloping, block of clone 337 planted in 2001.  I could not be happier.  At Bedrock it is all about seeking tannin-fruit balance, and this year I have succeeded.  During the long, even, fermentation, I pumped over exclusively, trying to impede any ripping of the berries and scraping of the seeds.  The color is deep purple/black, and the resulting wine has rich, dark aromatics of black cassis, and even early elements of spicy pipe tobacco.  The wine has been pressed into 100% new oak:  1 Darnajou S toast, 1 Bordelais “Ameline,”  1 Saint-Martin Grand Reserve, and 1 Seguin-Moreau Vendanges Tardives.

Monte Rosso Cabernet Sauvignon

Monte Rosso Cabernet was harvested on the 3rd of October.  My section of the vineyard is a 12 year old block of heritage clone Cabernet on double cordon planted on a roughly east-west axis.  The result of this was that the southern side of the rows got pretty fried in the early heat waves, while the northern side took a while to rid itself of noticeable green notes.  In order to counter this, Michael Havens and I did a long, slow, sorting at the destemmer.  Of the 5.5 tons that came from Monte Rosso this year, we literally sorted out a 1/2 ton of fruit that did not make the grade.

At this point, and this is typical of most efforts from the red-soiled juggernaut vineyard of Sonoma Valley, the wine is more Monte Rosso than it is Cabernet.  It possesses the highly aromatic red fruits and spice notes typical of the vineyards Zins, Cabs, and Syrahs.  The color is much lighter than i would expect from mountain grown fruit cropped at 2 tons an acre.  However, the flavor is explosive.

As more of an experiment than anything else, I am giving the wine an extended maceration on skin and seeds, a la Bordeaux.  So far, I am finding that the center of the wine is rounding out and the pliancy and richness is increasing.  The color is not getting better, but I can always add 5% Petit Verdot from Bedrock and maintain the vineyard designation.

After extended maceration it will be barrelled down to 75% new wood– an adjustment from the 100% originally intended– in order to work with its elegance rather than try to make into a powerhouse it is not. The barrels will come from Taransaud, Boutes, and Bel Air.