2011 Bedrock Dolinsek Ranch Heritage Wine

(made from a blend based on 70% zinfandel): Inky purple. Heady, spice- and floral-accented aromas of candied black and blue fruits and cola. Seductively sweet and expansive on the palate, offering powerful blueberry and cassis flavors that show liqueur-like intensity and depth. Seamless in texture, with subtle tannins adding shape to the clinging finish.

A rich, explosive wine, the 2011 Dolinsek Ranch Heritage Wine bursts from the glass with huge black fruit, smoke, tar and licorice. The aromatic and fruit profile is very much on the dark side, while the expression of fruit is intense and muscular. A huge finish laced with inky blue/black fruit rounds things out in style. Readers may want to give the 2011 6-12 months in bottle for the tannins to settle down a bit. In 2011 Morgan Peterson got just .5 tons to the acre from this site, which was planted in 1910. The blend is predominantly Zinfandel, with some Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet, Syrah and other red grapes. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2021. Morgan Peterson continues to put out a bevy of superb, site-driven wines, many of them focused on the old-vine, heritage sites he and a small cadre of fellow producers have brought back from the brink of extinction. When I taste the Bedrock wines, I often get the impression they will age very well, despite their considerable near-term appeal. Tel. (707) 364-8763