Bodkin Hotspur Rose of Syrah 2016
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Nutty, meaty and complex, this crisp, high-toned wine offers food-friendly elegance and refreshment while teasing in savory hints of earthiness. Balanced and dry, it continues to impress as it glides along in the glass.
The story of Bodkin Wines starts on a muddy field outside the town of Agincourt in the north of France on the 25th of October, 1415. Small in numbers, starved for days and ravaged by sickness an English army of 5,000 peasant archers and 1,000 knights, led by their 28-year-old King found itself trapped. Sanding between English and the safety of their land was an army of nearly 30,000 of the wealthiest and best armed men in all of France ready for battle--giddy to collect the ransom of a king. But no ransom was to be collected. For on that day, the feast day of Saints Crispin and Crispinian, Henry V and his army of peasant bowmen with their armor-piercing bodkin-pointed arrows gave history a story that inspired Shakespeare to pen a legend for the ages.
584 years later, Chris first heard this story in Mr. Alberty's English Literature class at Washington High in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Bravery and brotherhood, arrows and axes, stirring speeches and a smoking hot French princess--the play Henry V had everything an 18 year old nerdling could have wanted--he was hooked. The play's most famous quote ''We few, we happy few'' has been his motto since he started working his way up through the world of wine production in 2003.
Founded in 2011 by journeyman cellar hand and self-taught Winemaker Chris Christensen, Bodkin Wines disrupted the sparkling wine scene with America’s First Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc in 2012. With one foot rooted in wine science and the other in craftsmanship, Christensen’s minimalist philosophy guides his signature style of high acid, low alcohol wines. As an African-American winemaker Christensen works to promote diversity and inclusion in the wine industry through speaking engagements, podcasts and mentorship opportunities for aspiring vintners and winery owners.
Whether it’s playful and fun or savory and serious, most rosé today is not your grandmother’s White Zinfandel, though that category remains strong. Pink wine has recently become quite trendy, and this time around it’s commonly quite dry. Since the pigment in red wines comes from keeping fermenting juice in contact with the grape skins for an extended period, it follows that a pink wine can be made using just a brief period of skin contact—usually just a couple of days. The resulting color depends on grape variety and winemaking style, ranging from pale salmon to deep magenta.
A standout region for its decidedly Californian take on Burgundian varieties, the Russian River Valley is named for the eponymous river that flows through it. While there are warm pockets of the AVA, it is mostly a cool-climate growing region thanks to breezes and fog from the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reign supreme in Russian River, with the best examples demonstrating a unique combination of richness and restraint. The cool weather makes Russian River an ideal AVA for sparkling wine production, utilizing the aforementioned varieties. Zinfandel also performs exceptionally well here. Within the Russian River Valley lie the smaller appellations of Chalk Hill and Green Valley. The former, farther from the ocean, is relatively warm, with a focus on red and white Bordeaux varieties. The latter is the coolest, foggiest parcel of the Russian River Valley and is responsible for outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.