Lisa Reynolds

9.5

I mean I always say yes to Bedrock! Solid Zin can drink on its own. Great with food! Great bang for the buck! — 6 years ago

Todd Anderson

9.2

Nice to taste some good dirt again, fruit second — 7 years ago

Michelle Connely

9.5

Consumed 11/2017. I have rated this wine before, but the bottle had a different description so I am adding this one as well. When I try to look back at my previous ratings, I can’t figure out how to see what year the vintage was. That could be why the description on the bottle is different.
Robust flavors of ripe berry fruit meld harmoniously with smoky oak and subtle hints of eucalyptus and the earth. An elegant Cassis note complements the long, noble finish. — 7 years ago

Heather Robinson

9.4

Delicious but our last bottle. The big break is grapes grown where a dam broke and now grapes grow. We had a 2011 and it said to cellar it for 5-6 years. Nice full bodied zin, and we preferred it aerated. 16%, don't recall what we spent but prob no more than $20 due to a power buy — 8 years ago

Saray Tappin

8.9

Came across this Jem while in Denver, lovely well balanced smooth (not to much acidity) — 8 years ago

Lori K

9.4

A little lighter body than the 2013, but let it open a bit and wow what a tremendously full well balanced, big basket of berries this gives you! Opened it an hour ago and we're having to fight to save a glass to have with dinner... — 9 years ago

Dimes

8.9

Pass it to my bro's!! — 9 years ago

John Restrepo

9.0

I'm not a huge fan of Chardonnays but this was refreshing — 9 years ago

Jimmy Smith

Director, West and North London Wine School

9.4

minty, smoky meat. Bacon fat, peppermint, chocolate. Very powerful but also graceful. An iron fist in a velvet glove. Fullish, tannic, 13.5. French oak, small barrel (moved to 5000l in 2014) for 18 months. Name from Johns experience at Jaboulet in Rhone. A lot of grip. Lightly charred, tarry. — 10 years ago

Lyndsy Jenness

9.4

Good to the last drop! My new fave gor summer sipping. Not too sweet but definitely not dry. Great fruit aromas. — 10 years ago

Kevin O'Connor

9.0

Love this vineyard and really like this wine. Going to let the rest of my bottles rest for a few months before trying again. — 11 years ago

with Megan

Quinton Gillespie

8.9

Great Rosè. The more you drink, the more it grows on you. — 6 years ago

Mark Morgan

8.9

Has gone to sleep a little since last year. I’ll give my other bottle a couple years hibernation. — 7 years ago

President Obama

9.7

Low acid. Gift from Derek. — 7 years ago

Tom Inners

9.6

this is bitchin 'white' wine! Had it upon release but I've got to say I love it even more today, having squirreled away a bottle of this 2014 to check in on it on a later date. Remarkable acidity, and a long list of flavors that keep pushing all the right buttons. Bottles like this need to be part of your 'Required Reading' list, especially in making the case for Pinot Gris the bodacious babe she truly is. — 8 years ago

David Langstaff

9.5

Bright nose hides the strength of taste. Well balanced. Surprisingly present tannins. Will age nicely. Traditional cherry nose. Complex to tongue. 2014. — 8 years ago

with Nicole, Will and 2 others

Traci

9.2

💪👍 Lovely red blend. And this one is a bit harder to find, because they don't make/distribute too many cases. — 8 years ago

Axel Finger

9.2

Needs still some time to open. At the second day a real elegant beauty, — 9 years ago

Michael Cole

9.0

Easy to drink — 9 years ago

Brent S

9.2

A wine that'll convince you to join the wine club, apparently. — 10 years ago

Steve Brum

9.0

Very nice everyday wine and a great value as well. Rare to find something of decent quality at trader joes. Simply paired with spaghetti leftovers and loud children. — 10 years ago

Ernie Cochran

9.1

At first sniff it's smells sweet only not to be on the tongue. It's soft and very smooth. I like this one a lot! Recommend to any wine drinker. — 10 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 — 7 years ago

michael pandolfo

8.9

To me one of the better zins. More reserved than previous years but still has enough black fruit that make it work without it being overdone or over extracted. Not as sweet or jammy as most. — 8 years ago

Richard Geissler

9.0

Acorn wine is hard to come by; a relatively small producer that produces wonderful field blends. — 9 years ago

Joe Wendland

10

By far favorite wine.....sweet easy to drink and delicious — 9 years ago

Tim

9.1

2005. Surprisingly still really good. (thought maybe Matt gave it to us because it was ruined) — 10 years ago

Sarah Bone

9.0

Not usually a fan of whites, period. This was recommended by someone at Total Wine. I am pleasantly surprised. Perfect for a warm summer evening. Fruity without being overly oaky. I will get it again. — 10 years ago

Scott Shaner

9.3

Really interesting having a cask strength 100% wheat whiskey. A few drops of water and this one opens up to reveal its massive potential. #whiskey #caskstrength — 10 years ago

Penny Patterson

9.8

Swiss Heritage Winery — 12 years ago