Had these two Bedrocks last week:
1. Bedrock Riesling WirzVnyd/CienegaVlly/SanBenitoCnty (Dry farmed by PatWirz; Plnted: 1963; Aged: neutral Fr.oak cask; 13.5%) 2016: Med.gold color; beautiful fragrant/R/floral/mango strong mineral/Mosel valve oil/bit petrol/pungent some chalky/flinty quite complex nose; some tart/tangy/bit metallic pretty much dry some rich/lush strong R/mango/floral light Mosel valve oil/mineral/petrol slight chalky rather complex flavor; very long/lingering rather rich/lush/seems off-dry strong R/mango/floral/pineapple light mineral/valve oil finish; beautiful minerality/Germanic in the nose but the rich/lush character on the palate beats it down a bit; could carry a bit more acidity to match the rich/lush character; a beautiful expression of Calif R.
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2. Bedrock GibsonRanch Heritage/McDowellVlly/MendoCnty RW (14.3%; Farmed: Scott/Jake Bilbro; Plnted: 1880's) 2015: Very dark/near black color; beautiful aromatic quite dusty/OV intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/Grenache very black pepper/spicy/c-c some toasty/oak some Rhonish/roasted/smokey quite complex nose; light tart/tangy quite dusty/OV light toasty/oak vey strong blackberry/boysenberry/ripe/Syrah/spicy bit Grenache/framboise some earthy/Rhonish/smokey/black pepper bit w-c/Rhonish rather complex flavor w/ modest ripe/chewey tannins; very long/lingering quite dusty/OV intense ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/very spicy bit peppery slight w-c/Rhonish/roasted complex finish w/ modest chewey tannins; a beautiful rather Rhonish Calif Syrah that speaks of Bedrock style.
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A wee BloodyPulput:
1. GibsonRanch: This old Ranch in the McDowellVlly was purchased in the mid-'70's by BillyCrawford. He hired his first winemaker straight out of Davis in George Bursick. For a number of yrs, they made a PetiteSirah from GibsonRanch that was terrific & not the usual oafish PS. George noticed one block of Gibson, planted in 1910, seemed particularly distinctive. The DNA confirmed that it was, in fact, Syrah. So w/ the '78 vintage, they released it w/ a Syrah label, one of the first really great Calif Syrahs, about the time of GaryEberle's EstrellaRiver and before the Ojai/BonnyDoon/Qupe/SierraVista Syrahs came along. It often showed a distinct c-c/black pepper character and leaned towards a Rhonish expression of Syrah. One of the best early Calif Syrahs. George left McDowellVlly about '85 to become winemaker at Ferrari-Carano and the wines rather declined, made by BillyCrawford.
In the early 2010's, Jake & Scott Bilbro purchased this historic GibsonRanch, signaling its return to glory. I believe the first GibsonRanch was made by Bedrock in 2013. Don't believe LimerickLane has made a GibsonRanch yet. In addition to retaining the old/historic Gibson Ranch, they have put in a lot of new plantings across the highway close by the wnry. Much of these grapes go into the Marietta OldVineRed. But GibsonRanch is truly one of Calif's great Syrah/Grenache vnyds. One wonders what the source material in the Rhone Vlly was used to plane Gibson in 1910?
Tom