Alder Springs Vineyard Syrah
⏳ Drinking Window
2024 - 2030
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted lamb with rosemary, grilled venison, wild mushroom stew
✨ Technical Specifications
The Alder Springs Vineyard Syrah from Bedrock Wine Co. is a masterclass in cool-climate California Syrah, sourced from one of the state's most extreme and legendary viticultural sites. Located in the rugged, far northern reaches of Mendocino County near Laytonville, Alder Springs was carved out of the wilderness by Stuart Bewley in the late 1990s. Planted on steep, fractured sandstone slopes at elevations reaching up to 2,700 feet, the vines are exposed to intense daytime sun and dramatic cooling breezes from the nearby Pacific Ocean. Winemaker Morgan Twain-Peterson MW harnesses this dramatic terroir by employing traditional, low-intervention winemaking techniques, often including a significant portion of whole-cluster fermentation and aging in mostly neutral French oak barrels. This approach preserves the vineyard's signature wildness, yielding a Syrah characterized by intense cracked black pepper, olive tapenade, smoked meats, and dark brambly fruit, backed by a vibrant, chiseled acidity and structural depth reminiscent of the Northern Rhône.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 2007 by Morgan Twain-Peterson MW—later joined by partner Chris Cottrell—Bedrock Wine Co. began in a converted chicken coop with an urgent viticultural ethos: preserving California's precious heritage vineyards. The winery works closely with ancient, multi-varietal field blends across diverse terroirs, including volcanic, alluvium, granitic, and decomposed limestone parcels spanning Sonoma Valley, Contra Costa County, and the Central Coast. Central to the estate's identity is the historic Bedrock Vineyard, originally planted in 1854, which achieved Regenerative Organic Certification. Bedrock champions dry farming, minimal intervention, and historic head-trained vines. In the cellar, Twain-Peterson employs spontaneous native yeast fermentation, whole-cluster inclusions, and neutral wood, studiously avoiding chemical adjustments or excessive extraction. Beyond its legendary red heritage bottlings, Bedrock crafts benchmark whites and rosés—including the perfumed Compagni Portis Heirloom White, crystalline Wirz Vineyard Riesling, and artisanal expressions of Bien Nacido Chardonnay and Ode to Lulu Rosé—each presenting remarkable tension, saline minerality, and profound historic authenticity.