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

Frank Kuo

9.6

Nose of mesmerizing peaty bacon, peppery, dried fruit like dried mango, and fermented grains. Taste is another smooth hit of sweet peaty bacon, hidden in it is some condensed sugary taste like caramel, a bit citrus zest, all mixed so harmonically. It is pure awesomeness. Aftertaste is definitely another savoring of peaty smoke, peppery with some hotness of alcohol, and lingering sweetness. Amazing and boost my spirit. — 9 years ago

James Gordon

9.3

Spirit wine. This thing is at a great place right now. Perfect with roasted chicken, lentils, and roasted vegetables. — 9 years ago

Chip Hughes

9.2

Definitely Roussillon. Definitely Catalan in spirit, but the old vine Carignan & Grenache qualities are underpinned with fine schist minerality. — 10 years ago

Antoine Goubert

9.4

Very complex wine :)
Black fruit with some sweet spicies
Long length
Wine with a real spirit
I love it! — 10 years ago

with PE, Hélène and 1 other

Rohit Topiwala

9.8

Excellent representation balance of agave spirit and oak. Too many overpower with wood. Free the agave, as that is what Tequila is about. Pure pleasure. — 11 years ago

Gary Fenstra

9.5

Kevin and Kerrie are with us in spirit. Thanks for flying it in. — 11 years ago

Winery Explorers

9.6

A day late Father's Day dinner with "The Spirit of the Poppies" in the glass! Mmm! @petermichaelwinery #palmdesert #petermichaelwinery #lespritdespavots #knightsvalley #sonoma #delectable #wine #wineryexplorers — 11 years ago

Jakub Kalinowski

9.3

100% macabeu, spontaneously fermented, aged 1y in concrete w/o any intervention. A crazy, natural wine with nice appley substance, a touch of almond, quite rounded and with a saline acidity towards the (long) finish. Ultra drinkable and works wonders with food. This is brilliant, if crazy, stuff! — 7 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.7

No. 3 in the Vosne Romanee lineup. Similar to No. 2 without the spirit. The full package ( with some astringency at the finish). Both round and full yet finishes firm. A long life ahead. La Romanee?” — 8 years ago

Samuel Albert Camacho

9.3

2006 vintage on Dec 18, 2017 at Sun River, OR. It seems “de rigueure” to describe the wines of Michel Faraud “savauge”. But although not refined, this wine was worldly and almost elegant, while retaining the wild spirit and pepper of Gigondas Grenache along with a hint of Dijon mustard. Perfect pairing with hangar steak and roasted asparagus with garlic. — 8 years ago

Frank Kuo

9.6

Color of amber, slightly light. Nose of concentrated aldehyde, baked apple, some cedar wood, and ripe pineapple note. Taste is very smooth, sweet, and nice spice. Flavors of dried fruits fill the mouth. Aftertaste of vanilla, nice dried peach and figs, with some refreshing zest. Some warmth in the throat is the only thing that reminds me of the smoothness actually is coming from a spirit. — 8 years ago

David Kline

9.2

Olive pips, brioche, pomelo, tangerine pith and lemon custard nose with a circus peanut candy whiff. Briny lemon entry that eases into candied peel, olive notes echo the scents, and a hard race to a very lemon and caper fulfillment that shimmers with crystalline citrus nectars. Far from moribund, this one scores big where other '05s have given up the ghost! That's the spirit! #champagne bubbles #frenchsparklingwine — 9 years ago

with Courtney

Brittany Buonocore

10

Made the holiday punch recipe with orange juice and grand marnier, heated, mmmm Mmmm good!!!! — 10 years ago

Kara Hermann

9.6

I love this wine. Very bright Chardonnay, great with salad on Christmas Eve (K&M bought at winery on Monterey trip) 2011 — 10 years ago

David Kline

9.1

Big, foamy root beer-type head, that smells of graham crackers and mocha. Chai- Mocha with Maduro notes, light licorice, nutmeg, light cayenne, light mint notes interplay with the espresso-and pure cacao, toasty and warm. The pumpkin is almost secondary, but emerges, adumbrated in dark leather satchels filled with fire-blackened pumpkins possessed by Aztec priests with vanilla bean necklaces, tobacco leaf doba skirts, and smoky spirit animals made of graham cracker. 2nd to last P-beer! The hallucinations are natural, of course. — 10 years ago

with Courtney

Christian Källqvist

9.1

Balanced. Good with minute steak and bearnaise. Buy again — 11 years ago

Hylton Heeld

9.7

All fantastic fortifieds. The 21 yo is the pick of the bunch, all smoke and marmalade. DP 90 is refreshing, almost sherry like with nuts and a touch more spirit. The 1985 is exceptionally smooth with toffee and orange . The standard 10 to 15 yo is less intense but great value.
Best of all though...the 1914 and 1967 from barrel.
Tasting at Seppeltsfield highly recommended.... — 11 years ago

Allie Merrick

Blogger/Host mywinewords.com

9.2

Pouring on the porch this evening with the 2010 & 2012 Ghost Hill Cellars Rose. Lovin' it! The '10 more serious. The '12 more sassy. Fabulous fruit (strawberry, raspberry & cherry) with solid framework in terms of structure. Yum! — 12 years ago

Trevor Kincaid

9.2

The 2015 is a light red with smooth taste throughout. — 8 years ago

Willem Koens

9.5

Excellent wine. Tasted great with duck. Happy to have some more bottled to enjoy. — 8 years ago

James Forsyth

9.5

What a delicious Bas-Armagnac. Rich with vanilla and caramel notes all in abundance. But what makes this such a delightful spirit is its intensity, smoothness and the finish that lasts several minutes. Twenty five years aged, and some, this Bas-Armagnac was a little treasure that I picked up at a store that was, sadly, closing. I'm glad I did. — 8 years ago

John Napisa

9.6

A truly sublime spirit. Serve with ice water and a sugar cube. — 8 years ago

M J

9.1

Brought this back from our honeymoon in Mendoza, Argentina 2014. Enjoyed this with steak as a pre V day dinner at home w/ @foodlasomm — 9 years ago

Anne Richardson

9.1

Dark ruby - so lovely. Aroma of blackberry on top of chocolate. A rich blackberry flavor but not overwhelming. Pairs well with berries and chocolate. — 9 years ago

with Crystal and Carrie

Matthew Breault

9.0

Kind of acidic on its own but pairs really well with BBQ steak — 9 years ago

Jean-Francois Pelletier

9.4

Quite the experience. Took some time to open in the glass. Complex nose of caramel, nuts and the underlying spirit. Medium+ palate, with prevalent nuttiness and still high acidity. Very long finish. — 10 years ago

with Frankie, Stanley and 2 others

Lewis Chester

9.1

1997 vintage. Medium Amber hue. Medium intensity of apples, Perry pears, honey, vanilla. Apple sauce, wood resin, cinnamon, toffee apple. With water added, more wood and vanilla notes to the fore. Very aged. On the palate, off dry, smooth integrated alcohol. Full bodied, pronounced flavour intensity of apples, pears, honey and toffee apple. Long finish, highly complex spirit. — 10 years ago

Mr. Winecountry

9.5

Super intense black rasp bomb. Huge. Incredibly complex. Have this with shortribs or a beef burgandy. Light pepper. Not anywhere close to past time. Eaxy 5 more yrs if ya wanted. As good as big syrahs get. — 11 years ago

Fabien Lainé

Blogger VinDeling.com

9.0

A well done wine with maybe a bit of little grip wild finish, a nice discovery, a pure and fresh wine - Karasì, is a tribute to the 6100 year wine tradition of Armenia and to its Areni Noir grape, which has created the authentic spirit of this wine. Its name is a reference to its long aging in traditional large, clay, amphorae (karasì being the Armenian translation “from amphora”). — 11 years ago