- Basic info:Bedrock Wine Company, Old Vine Zinfandel, California, 2016
- Type: red
- Price estimate: $19 (from winery)
- Look: Dark ruby and very opaque. good legs
- Smell: Wine, blackberry and a little hint of smoke
- Taste: black cherry, spice and other dark fruits. Long, earthy finish with a deep cherry flavor.
- Conclusions: So if the White Label Soter is the best Pinot Noir I’ve ever had, this is the best Zinfandel I’ve ever had. Period. The flavors and textures of the wine are in perfect balance. It has a lot of complexity but it also one of the easiest wines to drink. December has been a very good wine month for me and this wine proves two things – big red wines don’t have to be full of tannins and high alcohol to be good, and quality does not have to be super expensive.
- Other notes: I found Bedrock Wine Company because we had The Whole Shebang – a red blend that was pretty fantastic and at less than $15 a bottle, easy on the budget. When I started looked at where it came from, it turns out, this winery produces it and I became interested in some of their more named wines, and yes, in some of their slightly more expensive wines. I was able to place an order in the summer, but with the fires and everything happening in California, we got it in December. Well worth the wait. Thankfully I picked up two of these, as well as few that are in the $30 range. We will save those for a slightly special occasion. I love this one so much, I emailed the company to see if I could order more, but have not heard anything at this point, so I’m guessing I can’t. Will just have to wait for the next vintage and hope it is as good.
- From the bottle: “From vines averaging over 80 years in age planted throughout the diverse state of California, this wine aims to reflect the perfume, freshness, and spice that makes Zinfandel so utterly delicious. Fermented with native yeasts and minimally racked, this wine should provide great short-term drinking but will age gracefully for 5-10 years.” 14.4% alcohol by volume.
Sixteen Paws 