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Winemaker Notes

Our 2004 Merlot is bright, featuring clean and luscious flavors of wild black cherries and dark plums with intriguing notes of whipped chocolate mousse, exotic spices and earth. Rich, layered and concentrated, this plush Merlot finishes with a smooth, refined elegance.

The 2004 Vintage

There’s no way we can deny that the 2004 vintage was challenging. Mother Nature brought us a couple of frigid artic fronts, which froze many of our vines and prevented them from producing fruit this year. We are fortunate to have friends across the state of Washington who gave us access to some of their best blocks of grapes. I put many miles on my car driving to these vineyards to gain an understanding of them and to monitor the grapes’ progress. Ultimately, what began as a problem turned into an exciting opportunity. Our wines from the 2004 vintage deliver the characteristically elegant complexity and super-long finish for which Pepper Bridge wines are known.

Wine Specifics

Varietal(s): 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec

Vineyard(s): 48 % Weinbau, 32% Canoe Ridge, 15% Del Rio, 5% Cold Creek

Appellation: 100% Columbia Valley

Oak Program: 58% New Oak, 42% Used Oak; 100% French Oak

Time in Barrels: 18 Months

Harvest Date(s): September 3 through September 17, 2004

Brix at Harvest: 25.2

Total Acidity: 0.56 g/ml

pH: 3.73

Finished Alcohol: 13.9% by volume

Total Production: 891 (9-liter cases) and 30 cases of magnums

Bottling Date: April 14, 2006

Release Date: December 2006

Suggested Retail Price: $45.00

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