Bedrock Wine Co.'s 2016 Bedrock Heritage Sonoma Valley has been named one of the 10 best wines in 2018 by Wine Spectator. Click through the gallery to see which other Sonoma County wines made the magazine's top 100 list. Pictured here, Chris Cottrell (left) and Morgan Twain-Peterson, partners in Bedrock Wine Co.
Coming in at #36 is Ferrari-Carano's 2016 Chardonnay Russian River Valley Tré Terre Vineyard Select Collection ($32). The grapes used for the Chardonnay, which Wine Spectator's James Laube described as "elegant and refined," are sourced from vineyards located along the banks of the Russian River. (Courtesy photo)
Sarah Quider, winemaker at Ferrari-Carano, talks about the 2016 Tré Terre Chardonnay, named #38 best wine in the world by Wine Spectator in 2018.
Wine Spectator named Ferrari-Carano's 2016 Tré Terre Chardonnay from the Russian River as #38 to the list of Top 100 wines in the world for 2018.
Wines crafted from old vines continued to impress Wine Spectator editors, who picked Cline Family Cellars' 2016 Ancient Vines Contra Costa County Zinfandel as their #40. Crafted from vines over 100 years old, it's described as "lively and supple," by Tim Fish. Bonus: the Zinfandel is a steal at a mere $15 a bottle. (Courtesy photo)
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Cline Family Cellars' 2016 Ancient Vines Contra Costa County Zinfandel was listed at #40 on the Top 100 list. (Courtesy photo)
Landing at #78 is Landmark Vineyards with their 2016 Sonoma County Overlook Chardonnay ($25). A consistently high-scoring wine, Landmark's Overlook Chardonnay is their flagship white wine made from fruit sourced from the Russian River Valley, Petaluma Gap and Sonoma Carneros regions. Wine Spectator describes it as "well-built and rich..." with a "creamy texture." (Courtesy photo)
Landmark Vineyards' flagship wine, their Sonoma County Overlook Chardonnay, was named #78 in Wine Spectator's Top 100 list. (Courtesy photo)
Ridge Vineyards has been producing bold red wines since 1962, and this isn't their first time at the Top 100 rodeo. This year they earned their place at #91 with their 2015 Lytton Springs Dry Creek Valley field blend ($40). Another wine crafted from historic 100 plus-year-old vineyards, this blend is described as peppery and smoky by Fish for its rich base of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignane and Mourvèdre.
Ridge's 2015 Lytton Springs field blend was listed at #91 on the Top 100 list.
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The last Sonoma County-based producer to make the cut, at #93, is legendary winemaker Carol Shelton with her 2017 Wild Thing Rendezvous Rosé ($15). Made from organically grown Mendocino County vineyards, Fish calls it a "spirited" wine "with lively raspberry, cherry, and spice flavors that dance along the finish." (Photo by John Burgess)
Carol Shelton's 2017 Wild Thing Rendezvous Rose rounded out the Sonoma County picks at #93. (Courtesy photo)
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As has been the tradition for the past twenty years, Wine Spectator has unveiled its Top 100 list just in time for the holidays. The list is a carefully curated selection of wines from around the world, picked by magazine editors from the thousands of wines they have tasted and reviewed throughout the year. Oenophiles keep the list in their back pocket (and now smartphones) as a guide to must-try bottles.
This year, a handful of homegrown Sonoma County wines and producers made the top 100 cut, including a field blend of Zinfandel, Carignane, Mourvèdre, Syrah, and Alicante Bouschet from Sonoma’s Bedrock Wine Co., which was named among the 10 best wines of 2018.
Wine Spectator’s senior editor Tim Fish, a Sonoma local, praised Bedrock Wine Co.’s 2016 Bedrock Heritage Sonoma Valley, and called it “a knockout red, focused and well-built but loaded with personality.” The wine is produced from 120 year-old vines by the family of publisher William Randolph Hearst.
“We are stoked that a wine so rich in Sonoma Valley history received such an honor,” said winemaker Morgan Twain-Peterson, who inherited his passion for working with historic vineyards from his father, Joel Peterson of Ravenswood Winery fame.
Twain-Peterson knows the Bedrock vineyard like the back of his hand, having mapped and identified each of the 16,279 vines that reside on the 152-acre Glen Ellen vineyard.
“It is wonderful recognition for the few remaining ancient, genetically diverse, and richly storied old vineyards of California,” says Twain-Peterson, “that a field-blend of 27 different varieties stands alongside some of the greatest wines of the world is a real thrill for those of us who work every day to rehabilitate and preserve these increasingly scarce sites.”
Click through the above gallery to see which other Sonoma County wines made the Wine Spectator’s Top 100 List.
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