Dawn E.

9.3

Really delicious Bandol Rosé! I try to keep this on hand! Previous comments apply! Stormy night in Iowa 👍....just a lovely wine after my weekend to work! — 6 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

Doggfather

9.0

Value jackpot. Great with pasta on a crazy ass stormy night. — 9 years ago

Alex DiFrancesco

8.9

Pretty damn good dry rosé. Great summer weather wine. Finish leaves you wanting more. — 10 years ago

Ming L

8.9

Probably my last bottle of Rose this year before the weather turns cold, and it’s a good one. Very aromatic with perfume, strawberry, tangerine, grapefruit, watermelon, sea breeze, and hint of white flower. Soft and smooth on the palate with medium high acidity and a bit saltiness, yet the finish is fresh and crisp. So nice!

40% Grenache, 30% Carignan, 25% Mourvèdre & 5% Cinsault.

— 7 years ago

Faye Lessler

9.0

Fresh, sour, mineral. Amazing wine for warm weather!

From Gnarly Vines in Brooklyn. — 7 years ago

with Marie

Wine101Hamden

9.0

Bring on the warm weather! Bright acidity dancing on the palate. Super dry finish. Clean ocean breeze nose. Unripened red berry fruit. Ever so slightly tart. — 8 years ago

Muralee Murugesu

9.0

Warm weather, lovely refreshing rose. Crisp, delicate with peach flavours. — 8 years ago

Michael Rodgers

9.1

Had at The Smokey Rose? Smokey and very good. — 9 years ago

Jake Griffin

9.2

Mix of Syrah, can sauv, and garnacha, limestone off the nose with hints of lime, abundant strawberry and slight melon. Easy to drink especially during warm weather. Would recommend to pair with almost anything other than a number of steaks. — 9 years ago

Matty Carroll

8.9

Light and fresh with strawberry and raspberry. Super approachable, delicious hot-weather wine. — 10 years ago

Michael LoRusso

9.5

Might be my new favorite... The Plucky just received a few cases and was lucky enough to be offered this with dinner. — 10 years ago

Jeffrey McKown

9.8

My favorite go-to Sav Blanc, especially when the weather turns warm in Phoenix. Green apple, pear and citrus notes (lime?) followed by a hint of herbs in the finish. Pairs well with goat cheese. I like this wine with a cheese board. — 7 years ago

dan boedeker

9.1

Grapefruit and Tang. Drinks wonderfully with great weather. — 7 years ago

Kyle Bella

9.1

Juicy, fresh red berries, a lovely acid and a generous touch of funk and a mouthwatering finish that leave you wanting more. Good in any weather but if it’s over 80, this is what you want to drink. Definitely a little sweet but not cloying. — 8 years ago

Stephanie

8.9

Strawberry jam wine. Drank this during a rare heat spell. Light enough for the warm weather, and fruitiness was very refreshing. Once paired with food, the fruitiness was a bit excessive. — 8 years ago

Greg Gregory

8.9

Just not my style. A little dark and stormy. — 9 years ago

with Maureen

Christina Hansen

9.2

Wow, this is an amazing value wine at only $10! I confess, I didn't know anything about la Côtes Rêvée and assumed it was in Provence, due to the sweet lychee aroma. However, the medium plus acidity definitely makes sense for the Loire Valley. This delicate rosé has aromas of slightly underripe strawberry and raspberry, like they were the first crop of late spring. There is a bit of minerality that isn't quite smoke or gravel, but more like soft chalk. I would think from the aromas that the summer of 2015 (this vintage) was hot and they picked the grapes early. The varietals are Carignan (70%, increasingly popular in CA) and Grenache (30%).

I would pair this with a strawberry, goat cheese, and spinach salad or baked salmon with buerre blanc... mmm.... yes, definitely the salmon! Oooh, or shrimp scampi or pasta á la vodka! Definitely a food-friendly wine!

Word of advice: do not over-chill, otherwise you lose the aromas. 57-62 degrees is perfect for this wine, great for porch sitting when the weather is nicer! — 9 years ago

Tobin Trevarthen

8.9

Bold grapefruit, effervescent zip. Perfect for 90 degree weather. — 10 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

One of the peatier Single Malts around and being from the West and being a McDonald, one of my favourites. Seaweed and spirity with the expected heat on the throat. A good evening tipple as the colder weather sets in. — 10 years ago