2015 Bedrock Wine Co. Ode to Lulu Old Vine Rosé

2012 Gamble Family Vineyards Heritage Sites

2015 LangeTwins Sauvignon Blanc Lodi

2012 Sandler Wine Company Pinot Noir Boer Vineyard

2012 Imprimata Grenache

2013 Bedrock Wine Co. Albarino Abrente

 

 

 

2015 Bedrock Wine Co. Ode to Lulu Old Vine Rosé – $19

This vintage is a blend of over 60% Mataro (Mourvedre) from the Pagani Ranch and own-rooted fruit from Live Oak Vineyard in Contra Costa County.  The remainder of the grapes are Gibson Ranch Grenache and Cemetery Carignan.

 

The wine is an intense pink salmon color.  The fresh and spellbinding nose has cherries, strawberries, crushed stones, orange blossoms, watermelon, lime zest and a hint of dried herbs.  This has light to medium body with crisp acidity and seems to have just a touch of lingering sweetness.  The front end is fruit driven until the minerals and orange blossoms kick in on the back end.  The juicy finish has nice length with a touch of lime zest providing nice closing acidity.  This was a tasty vintage for this wine.  This has 12.3% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a twist off closure.  (91 pts)

 

 

 

2012 Gamble Family Vineyards Heritage Sites – $20

This was another “steal” from Last Bottle wines, my favorite “flash” wine site.  If you use the provided link and sign up, you get an immediate $10 credit and I get a credit if/when you make a purchase.  Check them out, they have awesome deals and their Marathons are always something special.  This wine had a suggested price of $35 so the Last Bottle price was over 40% off.

 

This is a blend of 47% Zinfandel, 32% Syrah, 12% Charbono and 9% Petite Sirah from Napa Valley.  The vines are all at least 35 years with most being over 50 years old.  The dry farmed vineyard yields under 2 tons of fruit per acre.

 

Each variety was harvested and fermented separately after being given a cold soak, destemmed and lightly crushed.  After a gentle pressing the wines were transferred to 60 gallon oak barrels for a 20 month aging process in 32% new oak (Saury American, Nadalie Virginia, Marchive Pennsylvania, Kadar Hungarian and Remond French)

 

The wine is a deep, inky purple color.  The expressive nose has blackberries, black pepper, dusty minerals, licorice, wood smoke, road tar, dark chocolate and dried flowers.  This has a full body with moderate ripe tannins and decent acidity.  On the palate blackberries, minerals and black pepper jump out quickly with licorice, dark chocolate and wood smoke coming in later.  The finish has nice length with a dried floral note providing some depth.  This isn’t a wine made to sit on for an extended time, it would be best to open this one in the next couple of years.  This has 14.3% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with an agglomerated cork.  (88 pts)

 

 

 

2015 LangeTwins Sauvignon Blanc Lodi – $10

I’m a big fan of wines from Lodi.  If your past experiences of Lodi wines are limited to big red wines, especially Zinfandel, I highly recommend checking out their crisp white and rosé wines.  These wine will make you a fan.

 

This is 100% “Musqué Clone” Sauvignon Blanc from the winery’s Jahant Vineyard in Lodi.

 

The wine is a pale yellow color with a very slight green tint.  The crisp and fresh nose has tart apples, dusty minerals, lemongrass, lime zest, under ripe pineapple and a spritz of grapefruit.  This has medium body with crisp acidity and just a hint of residual sweetness.  On the palate tart apples, minerals and lemongrass quickly grab your attention with lime zest and a hint of pineapple coming in later.  The mouthwatering finish has good length with a touch of grapefruit joining the tart apples and minerals.  This would be perfect with a light meal on the deck or patio on a warm, sunny day.  The hint of sweetness would also make this a marvelous way to relax before dinner.  This has 12.8% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a twist off closure.  (89 pts)

 

 

 

2012 Sandler Wine Company Pinot Noir Boer Vineyard – $25

Sandler Wine Company is the personal label of ever-present consulting winemaker, Ed Kurtzman.  Sandler Wine Company is devoted to small bottlings of Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zinfandel and Grenache, from some of Ed’s favorite vineyard and grower sources.  Production of most wines very seldom exceeds 100 cases and in some cases don’t even reach 25 cases.  This is a highly recommended mailing list to check out if you want very reasonably priced, small production wines.

 

The wine is a deep garnet color.  The sensuous nose has black cherries, raspberries, baking spices, dry underbrush, white pepper, chalky minerals and dried wildflowers.  This has medium body with moderate to solid tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate black cherries, raspberries, baking spices and minerals come through quickly on the front end with dry underbrush coming in later.  The finish has very good length with white pepper and a dried floral note providing nice depth.  This has great closing acidity.  This tastes great now with some air but I think some additional cellar time will be rewarded.  This has 13.4% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with an agglomerated cork.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2012 Imprimata Grenache – $15.70

100% Grenache grown in the tough Ironstone laden hillside. The vines appear to float above the valley and the sea below, braving the winds off of the Southern Ocean and keeping yields achingly low, thus producing a profound Grenache of delicate balance. Aged in neutral oak for 5 months.  The winemaker is Ben Glaetzer, a very highly regarded and world renowned figure in the Australian wine community.

 

This is a bright ruby color.  The seductive nose has black cherries, raspberries, dusty minerals, dry underbrush, white pepper, cola and a hint of dried leafy herbs.  This has a full body with moderate ripe tannins and nice acidity.  On the palate the cherries and berries jump out on the front end with the savory elements rolling in later.  The finish has very good length with fruit, minerals and white pepper seeming to linger forever.  This is rich and ripe but not overblown like some Aussie wines.  This wouldn’t be mistaken for a Southern Rhone wine but who cares, this is very tasty stuff.  The longer the bottle was opened the more the savory notes came through on the back end and finish.  I’d sit on this one for a couple more years to see what happens.  This has 15% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a twist off closure.  (91 pts)

 

 

 

2013 Bedrock Wine Co. Albarino Abrente – $22

This  was the 5th vintage of this wine made by Michael Havens (the first person to make Albarino in the New World) and Morgan Twain-Peterson.  The wine comes from two sites in the far southern part of Napa Valley.  This vintage consists of almost 60% grapes from the Watson Vineyard, which is planted in limestone.  The fruit from this vineyard adds density and perfume.  This was fermented and aged in stainless steel tank, with no malolactic.

 

The wine is a nice straw yellow color.  The invigorating nose has ripe apple, dusty minerals, lemon zest, white peach, under ripe melon and orange blossoms.  This has light to medium body with crisp acidity.  On the palate apples, lemon zest and white peach take control on the front end with minerals and orange blossoms coming in later.  The finish has nice length with a bit of melon joining the apples and lemon zest.  This has great citrusy acidity with enough apple and peach to balance the tartness.  The couple years in the cellar have been very kind to this wine but I’d advise consuming this one over the next year or two.  This has 13% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a twist off closure.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

A few meals paired with a couple of the wines.

 

Other meals that were paired with all the wines for the week are usually posted on my Instagram account, Cliff’s Wine Picks Instagram.  If you want a specific recipe, send an e-mail to Cliff @ CliffsWinePicks . com.  Obviously, remove the spaces.

 

I paired the Sandler Pinot Noir with Pork Tenderloin medallions over egg noodles with a mustard sauce.

 

 

 

 

I am a big fan of the “Flash Wine Sale” site Last Bottle.  You probably noticed some of the wines in this post were purchased from the site.  All of these wines were purchased at a big discount.  I highly recommend getting on their e-mail list.  Like most of the flash sale sites, they offer one wine per day until it sells out.  They also have a couple two-day marathons during the year.  Last Bottle is a great site to buy special wines at prices low enough to open any day of the week.

 

If you sign up using this link you will get a $10 credit that can be used on your first purchase.  I will also get a credit if you make a purchase.

 

Other than getting a credit as explained above, I have no financial interest in the site.  After you are on the list, you can also get the same credit by introducing friends to Last Bottle.

 

 

 

Connect with me

You can follow me on Twitter for more wine info, potential food pairings, and an occasional recipe or two.  Be warned, I’m also a sports fan and there are occasional Pittsburgh Penguins, Steelers, and Pirates tweets.  I attended the University of South Carolina, so during football season, there will also be some Gamecock posts.

 

I post a lot more pictures and pairing suggestions on my Instagram account, consider joining me at https://www.instagram.com/cbbrown3/

 

If you like this post, consider joining Cliffs Wine Picks Wine Blog on Facebook and giving me a Like.

 

Cheers!

 

 

This is original to CliffsWinePicks.com.  Copyright 2018 Cliff’s Wine Picks.

All rights reserved.

 

 

 

***** Shameless Self Promotion *****

 

Here is a link to a YouTube video of me getting “coal” from Santa for being named the “Nicest Person in Social Media” in 2012.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOvQTeGR3-c

 

 

 

Breaking news from Klout:

 

 

Cliff’s Wine Picks mentions or other posts

Here are posts, newsletters, blogs or other articles that either mention this site or that I have written:

 

Click here or on the “Cliff’s Wine Picks On Other Sites” link in the top right corner to see links to other sites that either have my reviews, my thoughts or other posts I have written.

 

 

 

Remember to support your local wine store!

 

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

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 always check out the sale and close out items when in a store.  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!