Nose
Ripe mountain Merlot makes its mark in the aroma profile where cassis and cherry mingle with French oak barrel nuances of roasted coffee and saddle leather.
Palate
An astonishing mouthful of body explodes in ripe extraction, yet resolves in elegant softness in the finish. Flavors linger on the palate for minutes!
Growing Conditions
The warm and early ripening season of 1997 brought us mountain claret varieties with unbelievable extraction and depth. In a vintage with such overall intensity of character, the most highly extracted wines, which were selected for the Reserves, were beyond belief. The Reserve Claret is essentially 2/3 Merlot and 1/3 Cabernet Sauvignon, but a trace of Petit Verdot spiced the blend and lengthened the finish. These are wines for lovers of structure!
Harvest
Winemaking
The Merlot lots were no sooner pressed off when the Cabernets were harvested and fermented.
Fermentation: Stainless Steel.
Aging
Cooperage: French Oak.
