2013 Bedrock Heritage Wine

It's always a treat to see what Morgan Twain Peterson and his colleague Chris Cottrell are up to at Bedrock, where the focus is on showcasing California's heritage sites and their extraordinary pedigree, something Bedrock and a handful of like-minded wineries have taken with notable enthusiasm. Many of the wines in this range are field blends, sometimes also known as 'mixed blacks' that Sonoma's Italian settlers favored back in the 1800 and early 1900s, when many of these vineyard were first planted. The Bedrock wines are relatively intense and powerful in style, but they are also quite faithful to a sense of place. The Old Vine Zinfandel and North Coast Syrah, both $25, are among the best wines readers will come across for the money. A new Cabernet Sauvignon from Montecillo and the new Oakville Farmhouse Heritage Wine both left me weak at the knees and practically drooling at the prospect of perhaps owning a few bottles.