Nose
Inviting aromas of dark fruit and spice which translate well at first sip.
Palate
Experience black raspberry, ripe plum and anise flavors that linger on the tongue as its velvety tannins come from behind to give this merlot a smooth, polished finish.
Growing Conditions
2014 was a vintage that brought us a third year of drought. Our farming practices give us an edge over traditional farmers, since our vines have been taught to drive their roots deep into the soils, claiming water from below, not above. However, if the rain doesn’t come soon we can expect some difficulties ahead. We received “miracle rains” in March, and a shake-up by Mother Earth in August kept us on our toes (thankfully we only had a few repairs needed). The summer went smoothly, without significant heat spikes, but we did see high humidity throughout.
Harvest
Harvest was fast and compact until the early part of October provided a break to process the massive amounts of fruit. This is another great vintage on the heels of the fantastic 2012’s, and superb 2013’s; 2014, creating wines of true pedigree.
Winemaking
Handpicked fruit for this Merlot was sourced specifically from areas in Sonoma County that elicit the ultimate expression of full fruit and velvety texture, while maintaining varietal integrity. In the winery we used a variety of techniques to maximize flavor intensity and retain bright fruit flavors while managing tannin levels, including cold soaking, pump over, and varying fermentation lengths and temperatures.
Aging
The wine was aged in French and American oak for 16 months.
