Way back in the day, back when we had to explain that it was red and not pink, we spoke of the ‘Three Rs of Zinfandel,’ Rosenblum, Ridge and Ravenswood, the three wineries many considered most responsible for the emergence of the variety from its long subjugation by the abomination we called White Zin.  These were serious properties that made serious wines and, thanks to their passion for working with old vines, saved many of California’s most historic vineyard sites from being plowed under to support suburban sprawl.  Or worse, being replanted to Merlot!  When I joined the wine business in California, back in 1993 at a small wine shop in San Francisco, our deliveries, in the back of owner Joel Peterson’s pickup truck, of Ravenswood’s single vineyard Zins, were much anticipated and sold out immediately.  And while wines like Ravenswood’s bottlings from Cooke, Dickerson, Belloni and Wood Ranch all had their avid fans, to me, it was being able to secure a few bottles of Old Hill Ranch that made my day.  One of the other ancient vineyards Joel loved to work with was called Madrone, a Sonoma Valley site that was originally purchased from a legatee of the Vallejo family in 1854 by Civil War general ‘Fighting Joe’ Hooker, bankrolled by none other than William Tecumsah Sherman!  Hooker’s vines were wiped out by phylloxera and replanted in 1888 by then owner, state senator George Hurst (father of William Randolph) to its current plantings of Zin and ike-minded varieties.  The vineyard was eventually split with half being owned by the Domenici family who sold the fruit to Peterson and wineries like DeLoach for many years until Joel was eventually able to purchase the land in 2005, changing the name to Bedrock and allowing his son Morgan access to the fruit.  Morgan’s Bedrock Wine Company has made its sole mission the protection of the legacy and character of California’s oldest vineyards, and anything you see under the Bedrock Heritage label is a wine worth savoring.  But a Bedrock Bedrock?  That’s something!  Like many of the old vineyards with which Morgan works, this site is planted to so much more than Zin.  There’s all kinds of crazy stuff in there and it’s that other stuff, like Mourvedre, Carginan and Alicante Bouchet, for example, that tempers Zin’s propensity towards becoming one dimensional and simply fruity and alcoholic.  There’s native acidity here and an entrancing briary earthiness.  It has the kind of complexity that makes you want to plumb its depths sip after sip.  And it’s great with food too.  I just got a few cases in the store and look forward to opening a bottle alongside some BBQ in the backyard, maybe alongside that last bottle of 1991 Ravenswood Old Hill Ranch I have in the back of the cellar…..

Validation Department:

Jeb Dunnuck:  Officially certified regeneratively organic, with Tablas Creek among their few peers in this category, the 2024 Bedrock Vineyard Heritage Wine comes from the original vineyard where everything began for them. More reserved aromatically at first, it slowly reveals red fruits, mint, saline minerality, and brilliant mouthwatering acidity. Structured and detailed, it has excellent length and should age beautifully over the next two decades. 98 points

Wine Advocate:  The 2024 Bedrock Vineyard Heritage comes from vines planted in 1888; the vineyard was Regenerative Organic Certified in 2025. A blend of around 62% Zinfandel, 19% Carignan, 10% Mourvèdre and a small portion of more than 20 other varieties that are interplanted in the vineyard, it has slowly blossoming scents of peach, blueberry, bitter orange, rooibos tea, earth and iron-like undertones. The full-bodied palate is bursting with pure, detailed flavors. It’s structured by firm, suede-textured tannins and vibrant acidity and has a long, elegant finish. 95 points