Matt Perlman

9.4

Love this style of CA chard. Crystalline, lip puckering lemon and rocks, lots of energy even at 8 years. Drink — 6 months ago

Ellen Clifford

9.4

Palmer turned my head in general at a recent tasting—if you can get your hands on the 1996 vintage my gosh…but for exceptional Champagne at (if not everyday) more frequently do-able prices lean in. Toasty white bread with these citrus notes that…can I be honest? It reminds me when as a teen vegetarian in St Louis I’d do late night runs to Steak and Shake where my friends got burgers but I’d order toast and butter with a lime freeze. Those toasty but piquant and refreshing notes. Expect like that on a platter with even more nuance. Obvi it doesnt taste like that precisely but its toast and citrus vibes don’t let go and cream and apple butter are backup singers. Do drink Palmer. — 3 years ago

Anita Grizzard

9.0

Dry, bold, not super fruit forward, but tasty. Yummy. Would drink again. 6th and vine. — 6 years ago

Jeffrey Zhao

9.0

Fresh berries, pomegranate, black currants, with hint of cacao and chalkiness on the finish. Light and easy to drink with mild tannins. Valdiguie shines through. — 7 years ago

Steve Gerths

9.3

Vines from 1900 in Dry Creek. Ready to drink. Too good to age — 7 years ago

S.S. Mandani

9.1

This wine’s bouquet brings to the fore memories of the sea. Once I take a sip, I picture a tapas restaurant with mahogany paneling, ambience lighting, and linen tablecloths.

At first taste, well-balanced. Perfect rich and tart berry flavors with a hint of natural vanilla and oak. Not too tannic and light & bouncy on the tongue. For me, I would love this with whitefish ceviche, tacos, and/or pasta.

Versatile and affordable.

Reminds me of a platitude I live by in terms of wine (and life), “If it tastes good, drink it.” I can still hear Larry, the spectacled, fourth generational New Yorker yell from behind the counter, bottles stacked on cardboard boxes, of his boutique downtown wine shop on Maiden Lane.

$6.99 — Trader Joe’s — 8 years ago

Lisa McKinnon

9.0

Ready to drink. Worked well with grilled pork chops. Friends who prefer Italian reds liked it. — 6 months ago

Lauren Spiegel

9.5

Full bodied red. Ready to drink, just delicious. — 3 years ago

Stephen Redenbaugh

9.1

I literally gave up on domestic Chardonnay...but I love the flavor profile—Tart, juicy Granny Smith and ripe sweet pear. No discernible oak, light crisp acid/ fruit balance and ABV under 13. What a food wine! Every time I pop an Enfield, I congratulate myself on my perspicuity and good sense. It’s not hard to drink well, just ignore the big names and hype. — 6 years ago

Mike R

9.2

2012 - drink if you got them - not improving from a year ago - big and bold but missing one gear from being a sports car I want it to be - still smiling at the lake with @R Bowers on his anniversary and not social distancing very well — 6 years ago

with R

Greg Helmer

9.2

This has all the flavors and aroma for a fine Pinot Noir. A little bolder than some, lite pepper notes followed by fruits and ferment. Very nice drink. — 8 years ago

Magnus Sjöstrand

9.2

Golden color. Smooth taste. Easy to drink — 8 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 — 8 years ago

Chris Wheaton

9.5

Very early to drink this one but wow! Purple and savory with plum/olive notes. Some nice acidity and present tannins. Check back in ten years or so… — 9 months ago

Michael Chelus

9.1

Cherry, raspberry, blackberry, currant, cranberry, licorice and oak. Light-bodied and soft tannins. — 4 years ago

Alex Jones

Marketing/Development Kunni/Westerly Wines

8.9

Tasty: blueberry, chocolate, smoke and cassis. Balanced and medium bodied, not too bright or savage. Faded over time and drink up. Enfield makes delicious wines across the board and for the value. — 6 years ago

Mark Aronica

9.0

Bright and citrusy. Would drink again. — 6 years ago

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! — 7 years ago

Ed Lehrman

9.2

Excellent and lots of life left. Sad that people don’t drink Syrah more often. — 8 years ago

Shay A

9.2

This is Palmaz’s second wine. I’ve been fortunate to have visited Palmaz once...one of the most incredible winery tours with their high tech tools.

This is a nice second wine. Still required a 30min+ decant due to age, but it was easy to drink after. A lot of toasted graham cracker, blackberries and fig on the nose. Palate was similar with little tannic bite. Smooth. There was a unique aspect to the finish of this wine...cinnamon bread wrapped in dark fruit. Very interesting. — 8 years ago

with Mark