Winemaker Notes
Bedrock Wine Company's third and final year of this experiment, as Syrah decline is unfortunately starting to ravage this wonderful vineyard. All sourced from the various aspects, clones, and blocks of Weill a Way Vineyard located at the mouth of Sonoma Valley, these wines are a love-letter to the LaLa wines (La Landonne, La Turque and La Mouline) of Guigal in Cote Rotie.
Exposition One comes from clone 470 on a steep west facing hill, saw 100% whole-cluster, and is free of the perfumed shadings of Viognier.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I finished the tasting with Morgan Peterson with his Guigal single-vineyard Côte Rôtie lookalikes, several meriting a perfect score, as if I were standing next to Marcel and Philippe Guigal and tasting from their cellar in Ampuis, Côte Rôtie. These are among the greatest winemaking achievements I have ever experienced, and give serious competition to the reclusive genius sandwiched between the tourist town of Ojai and the biker town of Ventura – Manfred Krankl. The 2013 Syrah Exposition 1, which comes from a relatively steep west-facing hill and is 100% whole cluster, is just a mind-boggling wine. A wine of great intensity with an inky purple color, a beautiful, flowery nose of raspberries, black olives, violets and some exotic tropical fruits, it is rich, voluptuous, multi-layered and just spectacular. It should drink well for at least another decade, if you can resist it that long.
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Wine Spectator
Remarkable for the richness, depth and torque on display. Expressive rose petal, dark raspberry and smoky pepper aromas open to bold and intricately layered flavors of blueberry, cassis, licorice and black olive. Drink now through 2028.
The winery’s objectives are:
To channel the fruit of ancient vines into powerful, elegant, and distinctly Californian wines.
To spread the gospel of Syrah in California by sourcing fruit from great terroirs throughout the North Coast.
To proclaim the greatness of Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon by sparing no expense on wines of uniqueness and personality.
To reclaim rose’ from the excesses of saignee and focus on precision, delicacy, aromatics, and food friendliness.
To make fascinating and quixotic white wines from unique sites and interesting varietals.
To dream big but keep production low!
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Perhaps the most historically significant appellation in Sonoma County, the Sonoma Valley is home to both Buena Vista winery, California's oldest commercial winery, and Gundlach Bundschu winery, California's oldest family-run winery.
It is also one of the more geologically and climactically diverse districts. The valley includes and overlaps four distinct Sonoma County sub-appellations, including Carneros, Moon Mountain District, Sonoma Mountain and Bennett Valley. With mountains, benchlands, plains, abundant sunshine and the cooling effects of the nearby Pacific, this appellation can successfully produce a wide range of grape varieties. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, and most notably, Zinfandel all thrive here. Ancient Zinfandel vines over 100 years old produce small crops of concentrated, spicy fruit, which in turn make some of the Valley's most unique wines. These can also be made as “field blends” (wines made from a mix of grape varieties grown in the same vineyard) along with Petite Sirah, Carignan and Alicante Bouschet.