Bedrock Wine Co. 2020 Zinfandel, Esola Vineyard, Amador County

Item Number: 16187

UPC: None

Country: USA
Region: California
Sub Region: Sierra Foothills
Appellation/AVA: Amador County
Estate Grown Wine: No
Vineyard Designation: Esola Vineyard
Vintage: 2020
Grape(s): 100% Zinfandel
Type: Wine - Red
Bottle Size: 750 ml
Pack: 12
Closure: Cork
Alc by Vol(%): 14.5
Viticulture: Practicing Organic
Soil Type: Granite

Vine Age: Planted in 1968
Fining: No
Filtration: No
Yeast: Native
Fermentation: Various vessels are used in the winery: stainless steel, concrete, oak, and plastic
Aging: Primarily 600-gallon foudres

Vineyard Notes: Esola (pronounced es-sul-ah) is owned by the colorful Denise Esola. This vineyard lies in the heart of Amador’s Shenandoah Valley. The head-trained, dry-farmed Zinfandel vines are planted on granitic soils and have perhaps the smallest berries and clusters seen on the variety. The resulting wine is a fragrant and structured expression of the grape.

Tasting Notes: This lightly colored, well-structured, expressively perfumed wine from Amador County, one that is as much about finesse as power, is one of Bedrock’s most popular wines. Esola is as singular as the former dancer, Denise Esola, who oversees this remarkable site today. Though there is plenty of California fruit here, it lies upon a firm foundation (the subsoil is granite) that is reminiscent more of Nerello Mascalese or Trousseau Noir than what people typically think of for California Zinfandel. What makes this even more surprising is that Esola is a relative outlier for Bedrock—younger vines (planted 1968, a baby by Bedrock standards!) and pure Zinfandel.