Jason Lee

9.3

Smoked pineapple spritZ — 7 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.4

I bought this bottle of Vin Perdu (or ‘lost wine’) from the Costco in Humble a week before Hurricane Harvey. That Costco received four feet of water. The wine guy told me they threw out every single bottle of wine, even everything up in the steel. So happy I was able to save this lost wine from being lost. Blackberry preserves, chocolate, toast, menthol, and leather. Delicious. — 7 years ago

Rashed Chowdhury

9.1

Never heard of this grape. Very nice heavy body. Apricot? Mandarin? Enjoyed the wine. — 8 years ago

Cody Milch

9.0

tinged matches and bee wax — 9 years ago

Vicky Guentter

8.9

Nice fruity red. Can definitely taste the cranberry. — 9 years ago

Rob Petrone

8.9

Sour beer fans would dig this — 9 years ago

Justin Hansohn

9.0

Raspberries and rustic toned down leather qualities. Not much to say here and that's a good thing I feel. Winemaker here is obviously staying humble to the origins. Wouldn't like this any other way. — 10 years ago

with Arturo

Joshua Crisp

9.0

2012 Patton Valley Vineyard Queen Bee - Blackberries, cherry cola, and hints of black trumpet mushrooms. Black cherries, blackberries, cinnamon and mace gush on the tongue. Black currants, vanilla, and field mushrooms fill out the mid-palate, with a rather short finish of cola and grapefruit pith. — 10 years ago

Alder Yarrow

Wine Blogger Vinography

9.4

Bee pollen, white flowers, wet stones, and candied lemon rind. Killer, as always. — 11 years ago

Phil Stice

8.9

Simple but so delicious. Could drink this all day. Humble — 11 years ago

Sabina Sobhani

9.8

Oregon Pinot — 11 years ago

with Tye

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

Alder Yarrow

Wine Blogger Vinography

9.4

Candied hazelnuts, seawater, crushed stones and bee pollen. — 9 years ago

Anna Maria Meier

9.1

Bee pollen, lemon oil & slight anise. — 9 years ago

bryn hagman

9.2

both the winemaker, and my, preferred vintage. what a humble, amazing lady. — 10 years ago

Sarah Monceaux

9.0

Out of all of blue bees ciders, this one is my favorite — 11 years ago

Ben Sacks

8.9

2012 vintage significantly differs from 2011 feels more well rounded. — 11 years ago

Tina .

9.3

Sweet, smooth, and crisp. — 11 years ago

D Lynch

9.5

Very dry, hint of chocolate — 11 years ago

Chris England

9.5

I love this producers Bee 🐝 Block Chard & now I love this one to 😍 Great quality @ £43 👍 Not oaked & syrupy - nicely balanced 😉 Varner make great 🇺🇸 Chardonnays 😎

🏵 94-95 points

🍷 Shimmering golden yellow

👃 Honeyed pineapple, lemon oil, mineralised soft tropical fruits, banana leaf & apricot

👄 Med+ body of fresh lemon & lime citrus into light honeyed tropical fruits w/ a dry mineral kick & apple hint

🎯 Med+ dry mineral & lime driven citrus tropical teaser w/ green apple peaking through — 7 years ago

David Kline

9.2

Baby, it’s cold outside. Falling near 70! The stouts are out! This sleek black beauty has it all! Thick, even lacing in two tone cafe shades, a cumulus attitude. Clean almond and cacao pod with a lemon pith aura. Bee pollen, waterfall rocks and northern oyster shell, including a light brine. Medium mouthfeel and soft minerality prevailas sips reduce the lace to alphabet soup fonts and ultimately horror forests. Unexpectedly clean, with coffee-cola notes and caramelized onion minus the burn. Crispy vanilla that turns creamy with agitation. Steely, smoky, pepper crackers, and bitter violets. #boulevardbrewing #darktruth #kcbeer #stout #dankdark — 8 years ago

with Courtney

Winston Jones

Host OrganicWineReview, Assistant Buyer Savvy Cellar Wine Bar

9.0

This a really nice wine! I drink each vintage and it's fairly consistent. I paired this Vermentino with an angel hair pasta, bathed in an infused truffle cream and mushroom sauce. All of a sudden my humble California abode felt like I was in Sardinia, Italia! Wine can do that! Isn't that why we love it? BEST with food, warm weather and friendships. Waxing poetic is easy after a few glasses of this beauty. And it's a value play! — 8 years ago

Riccardo L.

8.9

Initially very pleasing. Can explicitly taste the oak nuance and the ripe Cali fruit. A bit more reflection reveals tobacco and cedar. Quite Napa-esque, despite its Central coast ancestry. Impressive. — 9 years ago

Alder Yarrow

Wine Blogger Vinography

9.0

Young! Citrus pith, bee pollen, and chamomile. — 9 years ago

Peter Marks

Master of Wine, Educator Constellation Brands

9.4

Ooh la la! Fantastic crisp apple-pear fruit laced with a streak of minerality and beautiful richness and length. Lovely now and sould last another 5+ years. — 10 years ago

Michelle Rupp

10

My favorite moscato. Perfect amount of sweetness and simplicity. Found at Trader Joe's. — 10 years ago

Nik Darlington

9.2

The 2013 Field of the Bee white is a gorgeous warming white for winter — 11 years ago

Carlos Mata

9.6

True orange and honey color. Profound nose! Very polished array of soft scents. Honey, tangerine, sugar cane, creme brulee. Honey-like texture, carrying incredibly polished and harmonious medley of flavors. Bee polen. Royal jelly, tangerine, subtle sawercrawd, toffey flavors. Very unique and cultivated and educated like a young scholar. Nerdy sweet. Very inmense development on the ending. For a wine that holds a 100 pt. score. 95 pts. from me. — 11 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

10

Yup yup bee-yotch! — 11 years ago

Justin Howard-Sneyd

9.6

Stunning red! But then I would say that.... — 12 years ago