aren’t they lovely! by Rachel Smith
posted 24 Feb ’09, 2.59pm PST PST on flickr

My first order from Bedrock Wine Co., and their first shipment. I can’t wait to try these. I am especially hopeful about the Rebecca Pinot Noir.

These wines were crafted by the son of the owner at Ravenswood, Morgan Twain-Peterson, who started making wine at the age of five. I feel that it’s not right to keep linking Bedrock and Ravenswood, as I’m sure Bedrock will stand on its own. I’ll let you know after I taste.

One other little tidbit possibly of interest to no one other than myself: After I placed the order for these, which was at the earliest possible moment after learning of their release, I got a lovely handwritten note from Morgan letting me know mine had been the very first order. How nice!

A lot of the wines that we tasted were 2007s that won’t be released until next spring, but being young didn’t hurt them any. Most places were also pouring their 2005 and 2006 pinots alongside the new ones. As we wandered between the rows of tables, tasting here, tasting there, I had my iPhone in hand (naturally) and I snapped a few pictures of my top picks — see below. I’m not an expert, and your mileage may vary, but I would recommend any of these in a second. I am also unschooled in wine vocabulary, so if you want to know if they are fruity or oaky or smoky or have a long smooth finish, look it up on the winemaker’s site. All I can say is: yummy!

Roar I had not tasted Roar before, but it is one of my favorites from the event. The pinot is warm and full-bodied (that’s as close as I can come to winespeak). Roar’s on my must-find list next time I’m hunting for wine.

Ancien The Red Dog Vinyard pinot from Ancien is delicious. They even gave me a label! How cool is that? Or maybe I am just easily impressed…

A.P. Vin We met some friends at the event, a former colleague of Craig’s and her husband, who grow grapes; they recommended A.P. Vin, so we stopped by. I tried two of theirs and preferred the 2007 Kanzler Vinyard to the Keefer Ranch. Even young, it was was rich and, okay, I’ll say it, I thought it was smoky. Yummm. The Keefer Ranch was very good too.

Failla The name Failla is a family name and, I am told, rhymes with Layla (“Like the Eric Clapton song,” Kathy told me as she poured my taste. I’ll never forget now!). I tried all three of the wines Kathy was pouring. They were so good I forgot I was supposed to spit out the taste and not finish the glass. Oops! Also on my must-buy list.

Halleck I first tasted Halleck’s delightful pinot noir in a restaurant in, I think, San Antonio in September. I had the Three Sons Cuvee. I re-tasted that, just to be sure (yup – yummy) and I also tried the other three that were available: the Hallberg, the Farm, and the Clone 828, which I think I liked best of all.

Hook & Ladder I discovered Hook & Ladder at the 2008 Sonoma County Harvest Fair, where their Third Alarm Pinot Noir took best in its class. They were limiting purchases to three bottles per customer, more’s the pity, but I stocked up to the limit ;-) They are up in my top five for pinot noir. Alas, they were not pouring the Third Alarm, but the one I tasted was very, very good.

J One of my all-time favorites, J makes heavenly pinots. I had my first glass of J pinot noir at a little restaurant in Sebastopol, where I ordered it at random off the menu. Several visits later, they had run out — not entirely my fault — and I went on a mission to track down some more. Turned out not to be too hard, as J is located in Healdsburg, about 45 minutes from my house (rough duty, I know). They have an amazing tasting room. Holly Witchey and I were there one afternoon and she charmed them into pouring us 8 tastes instead of the usual four, and everything — every single glass, white and red — was remarkable. They make a rose brut that is so crisp… yum. If you ever see anything by J, drink it.

MacPhail I was not familiar with MacPhail before tasting it here, but I’m glad I stopped to try it. The label is charming, with wagonloads of grapes in a playful litho style. The wine is charming, too, with a rich taste and lovely deep color. I’ll be picking up a bottle or two of this one as well.

All in all, a delightful way to spend an afternoon. I just need to practice that part where you don’t finish the wine in the glass every time. It’s so hard to throw out good wine!