2005 Merlot

 

 

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Winemaker Notes:

Our 2005 Merlot is a lustrous, dark-ruby color with a lovely perfume of red and black currants, cream of cassis, pain grille, pencil lead, Asian spices and wild berries. On the palate, it is a rich, layered, velvety-textured wine with complex flavors of spicy ripe black fruit, earth, and cedar. This wine has a great sense of place, beautifully balanced with a terrific, long finish.

The 2005 Vintage

The 2005 vintage started off as a big challenge because the previous year had been a freeze year with very little fruit to harvest. I was somewhat anxious and worried about how the vines would come back. We spent extra effort pruning, shoot thinning and crop thinning to make sure the fruit came back evenly.

Mother Nature provided us with a classic wine-growing season. Bud break started around the third week in April, and very warm, sunny days filled the summer. We had plenty of heat units to fully ripen the grapes. Then the weather cooled off a little earlier than usual, dropping into the 80s around the end of August. This cooling-down period maximized flavor development. The wines from the 2005 vintage have terrific fruit intensity, show great natural acidity and are beautifully balanced.

Wine Specifics:

Varietal(s):  86% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon,
                    5% Malbec

Vineyard(s):  56% Pepper Bridge Vineyard,
                      44% Seven Hills Vineyard

Appellation:  100% Walla Walla Valley

Oak Program:  100% French oak
                        54% new oak, 46% used oak
               
Time in Barrels:  18 months

Harvest Date(s):  September 19 through October 6, 2005

Brix at Harvest:  25.3

Total Acidity:  0.55 g/ml

pH:  3.72

Finished Alcohol:  13.9% by volume

Total Production:  1,351 (9-liter cases) and
                             30 cases of magnums

Bottling Date:  April 13, 2007

Release Date:  December 1, 2007   

Suggested Retail Price:   $50.00

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