2008 Anthill Farms Syrah Windsor Oaks Vineyard

2009 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Old Vine

2007 Beresan Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley

1994 Theo Schmitz-Schwaab Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese

2013 Bedrock Wine Co. Ode to Lulu Old Vine Rosé

2003 La Carraia Fobiano Umbria IGT

 

 

 

2008 Anthill Farms Syrah Windsor Oaks Vineyard – $18.00

Anthill Farms likes to make a “one off” wine.  In 2005, they made a Syrah with grapes from the Windsor Oaks Vineyard that turned out so well, it was quickly made part of their lineup.  This is a classic cool climate Syrah that shows tart acidity and good savory elements.  The vineyard is only 10 miles from the coast and the grapes struggle to ripen in this area, resulting in longer “hang times”.  This is not a fruit forward, fruit driven, fruit bomb.

 

This has 14.2% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark purple color.  The very open and expressive nose has blackberries, cherries, warm baking spices, dried herbs, freshly cracked black pepper, dark chocolate and crushed stone minerals.  This has medium body with moderate to solid tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate spices and black pepper join the crushed berries on the front end with minerals and dried herbs coming in later.  The finish has very good length with dark chocolate and a candied floral note entering the picture.  This still seems to be on the young side but is opening nicely with some air.  This will easily last through the end of the decade.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2009 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Old Vine – $22.50

Morgan Twain-Peterson has followed the lead of Carlisle’s Mike Officer, make very good fines from old vines and sell them for great prices.  I’m not sure of the status of Bedrock’s mailing list, but I recommend either getting on the list or accepting a spot on their waiting list.  Besides very good red wines, Bedrock produces some truly outstanding white wines.

 

This has 15.0% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark maroon color.  The very open and expressive nose has brambly berries, plums, warm baking spices, vanilla, minerals, dried flowers, white pepper and a touch of dark bittersweet chocolate.  This has a medium to full body with moderate to solid tannins and very good acidity.  Brambly berries, plums and spice initially grab the palate with white pepper, vanilla and minerals breaking through on the back end.  The finish has nice length with dark chocolate and some earthiness coming into the picture.  This is showing very nicely, full of rich fruit and spice.  I remember an earlier bottle showing some excess acidity, either there was an issue with that bottle or there is a bit of bottle variation.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2007 Beresan Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley – $16.99

This was one of the Garagiste Mystery wines.  In this case, this was the anonymous Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon that was offered for $16.99 lat March.  I wasn’t familiar with the winery which left me even more intrigued.  I opened a bottle of this not long after it was delivered and enjoyed it a lot.  It’s time to try another bottle to see how it is coming along.

 

This has 14.2% alcohol by volume and is closed with a natural cork.

 

Winery history

Located in the world-renowned Walla Walla Valley appellation, Beresan has 27 acres of estate vineyards that we carefully manage to produce premium fruit, and in turn, great wine.  The geologic distinctiveness of our vineyards, combined with fine winemaking, is reflected in the unique character of our exclusive, limited production wines.

 

Owned and operated by the Waliser family, our mission at Beresan Winery is not only to make outstanding wine and satisfied wine consumers, but to live a dream of having a fun, successful and enduring experience with friends and family at our winery.

 

We invite you to enjoy our wines and come see us at our winery in the beautiful Walla Walla Valley.

 

For more information, visit http://beresanwines.com/

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a fairly dark ruby to garnet color. The classic nose has cassis, cedar, dried herbs, minerals, tobacco, Asian spices, wild flowers, dark chocolate, and a solid hit of earthy underbrush. This has a medium to full body, fairly solid tannins, and very nice acidity. The palate has nice fruit on the front end then the dried herbs, minerals, earthiness, and spice kick into high gear dominating the mid palate and backend. The finish has decent length and again leans on the savory elements with the fruit providing a touch of needed sweetness. This is in a nice place today, but should last in the cellar for a few more years.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

1994 Theo Schmitz-Schwaab Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese – $29.83

We are BIG fans of nicely aged German Rieslings.  The sugary sweetness these wines show in their youth melds with the citrusy acidity over the years to form a magical elixir that becomes a rich wine with just enough acidity on the back end to leave you grabbing the glass for another sip.

 

This has 8% alcohol by volume and the bottle was sealed with a natural cork.

 

Winery history

As is usual for a lot of the smaller, European wineries, not a lot of information seems to be available on the internet.  I also can’t find anything on CellarTracker for this winery since the 1995 vintage.  This leads me to think it no longer exists.  I can recite Jon Rimmerman’s (from Garagiste Wine) silky prose, but I don’t want this to sound like a sales pitch.  All I will say is, if you like older German Rieslings that have generally been in perfect condition, at really nice prices, check out http://garagiste.com/ and sign up for the list.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a bright golden yellow color.  The inviting nose has apples, honey, petrol, orange blossoms, stony minerals, lemon zest and a hint of white pepper.  This has medium body with mouthwatering acidity and nice richness.  On the palate apples dipped in honey, lemon zest and minerals jump out initially with orange blossoms and white pepper coming in later.  The finish has very good length with orange blossoms entering the picture.  The wine shows outstanding balance between the citrusy acidity and sweetness.  For 20 years old this still tastes young and vibrant.  (94 pts)

 

 

 

2013 Bedrock Wine Co. Ode to Lulu Old Vine Rosé – $19.00

Since the initial release of this wine, it has been a house favorite on warm days.  Past vintages were mostly old vine Mourvedre and the varietal was listed on the label.  With this vintage, some old vine Grenache was added to the Mourvedre and Carignane.  I assume the percentage of Mourvedre fell below the threshold for including it on the label or the name change was to allow even greater flexibility in coming years.

 

This has 12.3% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a twist off closure.

 

From the winery:

In our quest to continually one-up the previous vintage of this wine we stumbled headlong into the rugged terrain of Mendocino.  Don’t get me wrong, I really like the 2012, where I feel we finally captured a trace of ethereal lightness and perfume while maintaining the sturdy stock of Mourvedre at the wines base.  However, I wonder if perhaps the 2012 was just a trace too delicate.  We used more Carignane from the sandy, soft soils of Contra Costa County for that wine so my theory was that we needed to find soils with a bit more edge in them.  Though the base of 2013 wine is composed around the ancient plantings of Mourvedre at Bedrock Vineyard and Pagani Ranch, the rest of the blend is composed of dry-farmed Grenache planted in the 1880’s at Gibson Ranch in McDowell Valley and Carignane from the 1950’s planted on soils that remind me of Pauillac in Ukiah.  As always, all the lots were picked early and all except the Grenache Gris were whole-cluster pressed.  This, I think, though I am sure I will continue to refine, is the best Ode to Lulu to date.  Fresh, perfumed, lifted, bright, clean, dense, and delicious.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a bright salmon pink color.  The refreshing nose has strawberries, stony minerals, cherries, orange zest, Asian spices and a hint of smoke.  This has medium body with good acidity and just a hint of sweetness.  On the palate tart red fruit, minerals and spice jump out first with orange zest coming in on the back end.  The crisp and clean finish has good length with nice balance between the crisp acidity and sweet fruit.  This is an outstanding bottle for a light meal on a warm day.  (91 pts)

 

 

 

2003 La Carraia Fobiano Umbria IGT – $19.99

This wine is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Umbria region of Italy.  The wine was fermented in stainless steel tanks and aged in a mix of old and new oak barrels.

 

This wine has 14.0% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby red color.  The classic nose has cassis, tobacco, leather, cedar, cherries, baking spices, cocoa powder and minerals.  This has medium body with moderate tannins and good acidity.  On the palate the fruit and cedar jump out initially with baking spices, cocoa powder and cherries coming in on the back end.  The finish has decent length with a bit of earthiness coming into the picture.  The tannins do get a touch chalky on the finish.  This is probably as good as it will get with this one, which isn’t too bad.  (89 pts)

 

 

 

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Notes – I use the “official” Cellar Tracker name for the wines.  I use Cellar Tracker to help manage and organize my cellar.  I highly recommend checking it out at www.cellartracker.com.  Loading you existing cellar is a lot less intimidating than it would first appear.  There is a good chance 99% of your wine is already in the system, so you generally only need to enter part of the wine’s name and the system will find it for you.

 

 

Prices noted are the prices I paid at the time of purchase.  I don’t shop around to find the best prices, but my local store is usually VERY competitive.  I generally get case discounts, and since I work there part time, I get a 5% discount.  Wines purchased direct from a winery do not include any shipping charges.  None of the prices include the sales tax.

 

 

All wines that were sent to me free of charge to sample will be noted and I will show suggested prices when available.

 

 

 

Cheers!