Tanzer Scores Released

I am not really a big buff on scores, but it is nice to get recognized by someone whose palate you respect.  The International Wine Cellar released these today.  These scores belong as much to my phenomenal group of growers as much to the winery– so my thanks go out to Josh Hermsmeyer (Rebecca’s), the Sangiacomo family (Old Lakeville, Dick Keenan and Glenn Alexander (Kick Ranch), Diane Kenworthy (our wonderful vineyard manager at Bedrock Vineyards), and my favorite Dry Creek family (Lorenzo’s), and Augustin Lammoglia (Monte Rosso Semillon, vineyard manager).  You done good!

Bedrock Wine Company

  By Josh Raynolds

  May/Jun 09

 2008 Bedrock Cuvee Caritas Sonoma County

($35; a blend of 55% semillon and 45% sauvignon musque) Green-gold. Deep, intensely perfumed aromas of smoked meat, lees, orange, fig and truffle, with a suave floral underpinning. Fleshy pit and orchard fruit flavors are firmed by juicy acids and complicated by dried mushroom and citrus pith qualities. Offers the complexity, nuttiness and power of a serious white Graves, with excellent finishing breadth and spicy precision. The semillon vines for this wine are planted at an elevation of 1,800 feet, according to Morgan Peterson, who runs this operation with his father, Joel, of Ravenswood.

91

 2007 Bedrock Pinot Noir Rebecca’s Vineyard Russian River Valley

($45) Light, hazy red. Strikingly complex scents of strawberry, blood orange, rose and incense. Light-bodied, very precise red fruit flavors are accented by an exotic five-spice quality. Finishes with zesty mineral grip and cut, repeating the blood orange note. I really like this wine’s incisive character.

 92

 2007 Bedrock The Bedrock Heirloom Sonoma Valley

($40; 50% zinfandel, 25% carignane and the rest “other stuff”) Bright red. Pungent aromas of red berries, Asian spices, smoky herbs and flowers. Sweet raspberry and cherry flavors stain the palate, picking up an exotic candied rose quality with air. The long, focused finish leaves sappy, sweet red fruit notes behind. This reminded me a lot of a southern Rhone wine, and Peterson commented that “zinfandel and grenache have a lot in common, both good and bad.”

 92

 2007 Bedrock Lorenzo’s Heirloom Dry Creek Valley

($40) Deep ruby. Highly perfumed, sexy aromas of dark berry and cherry preserves, licorice, smoky Indian spices and incense. Fleshy, gently sweet blackberry and mulberry flavors coat the palate, complicated by candied rose and violet qualities. The licorice and mulberry notes return on the expansive, sweet finish, which is strikingly focused and extremely persistent. You could drink this now for its sexy fruit, but I’d hold off on it for another few years, at least. This was made from a co-fermentation of zinfandel, carignane and petite sirah, all from vines that are over a century old.

 93

 2007 Bedrock Syrah Kick Ranch Sonoma County

($35) Inky ruby. Pungent dark berries, cherry skin and Indian spices on the nose, with a strong undercurrent of smoke and minerals. Youthfully taut blackberry and cherry flavors flesh out with air and gain a sexy candied floral quality. Manages to be structured without coming across as hard, finishing with alluring sweetness and lingering floral notes.

 92

 2007 Bedrock Syrah Old Lakeville Sonoma Coast

($35) Glass-staining ruby. A sexy, room-filling bouquet of black raspberry, boysenberry, potpourri and incense. Broad, palate-staining dark fruit flavors are impressively deep and pure, picking up violet and rose pastille character with air. A tangy graphite note builds on the finish and adds energy to the deep, seductively sweet fruit. More approachable than the Kick Ranch syrah, and much more flamboyant. (JR)

93