Pinotman /// Andreas

9.0

Still great more on the lighter side than previous vintages mostly strawberry. — 3 months ago

Chris Buggy

9.1

Raspberry, blackberry, currant, big thick mouthfeel, long finish, tannins for days, but put together…you need something big to eat with this one, and luckily I had just the thing-pigs foot stuffed with sweetbread and foie gras — 10 months ago

with Jennifer

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Pouilly and Fuissé are the names of two villages in the Mâconnais region, located at the foot of the famous Solutré and Vergisson rocks. The vineyards cover a total of 850 hectares which are divided between four communes. Medium lemon color with aromas of citrus, stone fruits and nutty floral notes. On the palate flavors of apple, melon and lemon citrus with notes of honey and nutty oak. Medium+ finish, vivid acidity and ends with minerality. Nice! — 3 years ago

M F

8.9

Nice Provence rose.
From the label:
COTES DE PROVENCE ROSE

Owned by the Quiot family from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the 200 acre estate lies at the foot of Mont Sainte Victoire near Aix-en-Provence. Its winemaking facilities have been completely renewed over the past 3 years.
This is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvèdre.
Special efforts are made to preserve freshness and fruit by the use of CO2 gas to exclude oxygen during the harvest. This is a fresh rosé with a pretty salmon-pink color, elegant flavors of red berries, mineral notes and a clean finish. Serve this wine lightly chilled. Very nice on its own, it goes well with most dishes, specially sushi, salads, pizza and mild cheeses. — 4 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

The “Clos de Malte” is a 7 ha Monopole (Louis Jadot is sole owner) situated on the climat “Sous la Fée” at foot of Montagne des Troix Croix. Santenay Clos de Malte is mainly planted with Pinot Noir with a small hectare of Chardonnay situated on very damp soil of limestone and clay. Rich & elegant, aromas of stone fruit, citrus & spice. Flavors of green apple, lemon & peach with cedar, wet stone and baking spice. Lingering, ending with a mineral character. Nice! Consistent quality! — 6 years ago

Matt

9.1

Always been a go-to producer for me in terms of price, drinkability, and sense of place. This had all the MSD character I look for in village wines with generous fruit and weight to make it a no fuss experience. Some reduction and brett dominated but blew off quickly letting its leathery and brambly, sous bois fruity character shine through. One foot in rustic, one foot in conventional, this had a well rounded mix of what I like when I reach for this village. — 7 years ago

Giovanna Fornitani Llorente

9.0

Stormy without the foot — 6 months ago

Ted

8.9

Dry with citrus notes. — 10 months ago

Karyn Fricke

9.0

Classic Riesling, tangy lime acidity clean crisp finish and holding up exceptionally. — 2 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.1

2003 vintage. Decently respectable Pauillac nose. Solid color still. Wine open for three hours. Leanest body I've ever had with a P-L and lacking the complexity usually associated with this wine. Tight and not giving up much at the 3 hr mark. Nice but disappointing given the producer/vintage combo. Wish I'd had 6 hrs to wait hand and foot on this...perhaps it would have totally revealed the expected P-L charms by then. — 4 years ago

Jodi M

9.0

Light red, very drinkable — 5 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.7

One of my favourite Champagnes. At the Come Taste the Stars Dinner hosted by Tyson Stelzer. 100% Pinot Noir. Barely a foot of top soil before the roots enter the chalk. Incredibly minerality. Egly prefers NV to vintage for the Blanc de Noirs. Disgorged 2018 with 6 years on Lees. A blend of 2010 and 2011 both average vintages incredibly. Full bodied and powerful. Stunning. Amazing value compared to the Krug Clos de Ambonnay at $4500 and 10 times the price of the Egly. — 7 years ago

Matthew Cohen

9.2

Man I love this. Great strawberry fruit. 100 pct Nebbiolo from the foot of the alps. Simply delicious. July 4 Italian style. Bought from Fass Selections. — 8 years ago

with Lyle

Eric Urbani

9.0

100% gewurztraminer for Oktoberfest! Half of the grapes were immediately pressed and cold fermented in stainless steel, the other half foot stomped left on skins overnight then pressed and fermented cold. Results in a wine with depth of texture and aromatic complexity that Larry Schafer considers his best to date. aBV 13.5%. Santa Barbara county fruit. — 8 months ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Made in a small town at foot of Sierra Cantabria in the DO. A single variety Tempranillo from 50 year old vines has a deep Ruby red color and aged for 18 months in French and American oak. Aromas of red fruit and spice. On the palate ripe black fruit, fine tannins, well balanced with a medium+ finish ending with fruit, spice and some oak notes. Nice! — 2 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

Light cherry red in colour. Cherry and raspberry together with a jubey confectionery note on the nose and palate. On the palate “bigger” than your normal Yarra Valley Pinot. Winemaking Notes: 10% whole bunch, partially de-stemmed - a portion foot stomped. Open fermenters - matured for 12 months in old oak. Indigenous yeast; No filtration, no fining. — 3 years ago

John Jaye

9.0

Lots of body and minerality. Excellent summer drink — 4 years ago

Joe Hakim

9.5

Absolute stunner. Bright, tart, fruity. — 6 years ago

Madison Elizabeth

9.7

Cinnamon Girl at Left Foot Charleys. Tastes and smells like an apple pie. Not overwhelmingly cinnamon — 7 years ago

Mason Balistreri

Sommelier, International Wine Guild; Balistreri Vineyard; Sales, Joy Wine and Spirits

9.6

It might shock you, but my favorite rosé is not French but instead comes from California! Blasphemy, I know - but Bedrock's Ode to Lulu is just that good. The difficulty is actually finding a bottle. For the last three years, I've only been allocated a case (or less) to sell here in Denver. It's possible you are one of the select few I've actually told about this wine... If not, now is your chance. This is the first year there's an "okay" supply. It won't last, but you should be able to get a bottle.

So yes, it's not French but it's made in the same style and method of Tempier Bandol Rosé- the most sought after, cult rosé out there. The name "Ode to Lulu" is actually an homage to the 4.5 foot tall, 101 year old woman named "Lulu" Peyraud (born Lucie Tempier) whose father gifted the Mourvedre heavy estate to her and her husband Lucien Peyraud. The wines they would go on to produce from the 1940's onward quite literally defined Bandol and put it on the map as some of the best rosés out there. She's still alive and presumably drinking plenty of wine.

This California-born "Ode to Lulu" is modeled after the great Tempier, but has some unique properties compared to it's French namesake. For one, the vines are EXTREMELY old. Tempier defined itself by focusing on old Mourvèdre and Grenache plantings, but even these French vineyards cannot compare to what Bedrock is working with in California. If you don't know, Bedrock is the winery of Morgon Twain Peterson, son of legendary Ravenswood founder Joel Peterson. Morgon grew up making wine and through his father has cultivated relationships with some of the most important heritage vineyards in California. The "Ode to Lulu" is made from Mourvèdre and Grenache planted as far back as 1888! These are some of the oldest plantings of these grapes around and make for unbelievable wines. Tempier's average vine age is around 40 years old today. Bedrock's is over 3x as old. Insane.

Morgon may be young, but he has a life time of winemaking experience. He started making wine with his father when he was 5 years old and hasn't stopped yet. In addition to absorbing his father's knowledge on heritage vineyards, he is a real student in the world of wine, earning a "Masters of Wine" designation (this industry's highest achievement). I've been drinking his wine for several years and I can say that his wine is made extremely thoughtfully and with expert attention to detail. This is true even with a wine as humble as rosé.

Unlike most California pink wine, Bedrock is not produced by "bleeding off" juice from a red wine. Instead, the grapes are picked early and separately at very low potential alcohols, and whole cluster pressed with low extraction. This preserves the freshness and acidity, creating a wine of clarity. In an old blog post I dug up, Morgon explains this idea:

"I pick at potential alcohols lower on the scale where brightness and lift still exist. This is not to say that fruit does not matter—I use Mourvedre from a block planted over 120 years ago for requisite concentration of complexity of flavor—but like fine champagne, the wonders of rosé lie in its unbearable lightness of being."

I agree with this idea of rosé and I think most people instinctively do as well. It's no coincidence that our best selling bottles come from provence. However, I urge you to pick up at least one bottle of this Ode to Lulu. It's a wine that's close in spirit to the best French rosé but made from vineyards that are American and unrivaled in age.

This is the fourth vintage of Ode to Lulu I've tasted, and I would say that's the most elegant yet. The 2015 was maybe my favorite for it's depth and I picked a few up to age, drinking my last bottle recently... This new vintage is great now, but it will reward with a short cellaring time. Honestly, if you can hide 2 bottles and drink them before fall or into next year, you will be blown away. Bandol rosé is a wine that improves dramatically over the course of 6 months to several years (Tempier Rosé is known to go decades). This bedrock is no different.

I can personally attest to past vintages gaining depth with time. How is this possible? Unlike other rosé which should be drank young, Bandol and Ode to Lulu are made of Mourvedre, a grape that is naturally reductive and resistant to oxidation. Further, the acidity is high and alcohol low. As the acidity starts to fall away, a depth and richness of character will emerge. In fruitier/riper rosé with more alcohol, this richness becomes too sweet and cloying... Not the case here. This keep balanced through time, gaining complexity while remaining refreshing. 

You should buy this wine. However, I think there is one more important facet to rosé that I should mention before you do... Rosé is not always about what's in the glass itself. Rosé is really an ethereal thing... It's more so an "essence" of terroir and vintage rather than a sturdy, hard representation like red wine is... Sorry if that doesn't make sense but what I'm trying to say is that sometimes rosé is more about the place and the people you enjoy it with than the exact flavors themselves. Of course, we cannot all visit the picturesque village of Bandol to visit Lulu Peyraud; but I think, with this sunny Colorado weather, we can come close. Perhaps Morgon said it better than I can:

"Proper rosé is refreshing, life-nourishing stuff that revives the soul... I drink as much for pure pleasure as for intellectual stimulation. In the warmer months there is something sacred about a late afternoon meal of cold chicken, fresh garden tomatoes, and rosé. It is one body in the sacred trilogy of rustic simplicity." - Morgon Twain Peterson

#rose #oldvine #lulu #tempier #bedrockwineco — 8 years ago