2005 Bell Wine Cellars Merlot, Yountville, Napa Valley (Wine Selections / Red Wine) -- Bell Wine Cellars Shopping Cart -- Valley Napa Yountville, Merlot, Cellars Wine Bell 2005

<H1>2005 Bell Wine Cellars Merlot, Yountville, Napa Valley -- Bell Wine Cellars Shopping Cart</H1> $36.00 -- 2005 Bell Wine Cellars Merlot, Yountville, Napa Valley <IMG SRC="https://store.nexternal.com/bellwine/images/YVL%20Merlot1.gif" WIDTH=150 ALIGN=right ALT="2005 Bell Wine Cellars Merlot, Yountville, Napa Valley" NAME="2005 Bell Wine Cellars Merlot, Yountville, Napa Valley" BORDER=0 HSPACE=10> Vineyard Our Merlot grapes are estate grown on the winery’s SpanosBerberian Estate Vineyard in Yountville approximately one mile south of the Yountville Hills. Yountville enjoys the early morning fog and cool growing conditions of the maritime influenced southern Napa Valley, whilst the early receding fog gives us more sunlight and warmer daytime temperatures than the more southerly Carneros region. Our warm summer daytime temperatures and cool evenings result in grapes with rich fruit flavors and an excellent acid balance. Vintage Notes The 2005 growing season began with wet weather, followed by a dry period in March. Rainfall continued well into spring with later than usual bloom and set and we experienced unseasonable rain into June. The cool weather continued into summer with few heat spikes. As September approached we were concerned that the larger than normal crop would not mature as fog prevailed well into the harvest season, keeping daytime temperatures cool. The long cool growing season gave us excellent wines with beautiful structure, great color and high natural acidity. Vinification Merlot grapes were hand-harvested and gently crushed to minimize crushing of berries and maximize fruit character. We fermented at 80 degrees-F with a Bordeaux yeast strain, and extracted color utilizing gentle irrigation over the skins. Following fermentation, the wine underwent malo-lactic fermentation and was then racked to barrel. The wine was barrel aged in a combination of French (65%) and American (35%) oak barrels, 50% of which were new, for 18 months. The wine was not fined and received one light filtration prior to bottling. Tasting Notes Our Merlot, deep garnet in color, has rich black cherry fruit aromas, with hints of eucalyptus and oak. Diligent canopy management during the summer to expose the fruit to dappled sunlight, and severe crop thinning prior to harvest to ensure evenly mature fruit and to balance the crop, yields a rich, full-bodied wine with a lovely structure. Elegant tannins balance well with good fruit acidity, concentrated fruit flavors and sweet vanilla oak flavors to yield a wine that will develop well with several years of aging. A rich, concentrated “Cabernet drinkers” Merlot with a layered, lingering finish and supple mouthfeel. Technical Analysis: Varietal: Merlot (98%) Cabernet sauvignon (2%) Appellation: Yountville, Napa Valley Harvest Sugar 24 Brix Harvest Acid 0.54 gm/100ml Total Acid 0.63 gm/100ml pH 3.59 Alcohol 13.7% Aging 18 months in oak, 50% new barrels 65% French, 35% American Bottle Date August 2007 Production 248 cases Other products in the category <A HREF="http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Category1" TITLE="Wine Selections">Wine Selections</A> / <A HREF="http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Category2" TITLE="Red Wine">Red Wine</A>: <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product40 TITLE="2003 Bell Wine Cellars Sonnette, Red Wine, Napa Valley">2003 Bell Wine Cellars Sonnette, Red Wine, Napa Valley</A> -- 2003 Bell Wine Cellars Sonnette, Red Wine, Napa Valley <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product76 TITLE="2004 Bell Wine Cellars Sonnette, Red Wine, Napa Valley">2004 Bell Wine Cellars Sonnette, Red Wine, Napa Valley</A> -- 2004 Bell Wine Cellars Sonnette, Red Wine, Napa Valley <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product78 TITLE="2004 Bell Wine Cellars Sonnette, Red Wine, Napa Valley">2004 Bell Wine Cellars Sonnette, Red Wine, Napa Valley</A> -- 2004 Bell Wine Cellars Sonnette, Red Wine, Napa Valley <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product83 TITLE="2005 Bell Wine Cellars Zinfandel, Napa Valley">2005 Bell Wine Cellars Zinfandel, Napa Valley</A> -- 2005 Bell Wine Cellars Zinfandel, Napa Valley <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product124 TITLE="2005 Bell Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 375 ml">2005 Bell Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 375 ml</A> -- 2005 Bell Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 375 ml <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product126 TITLE="2005 Bell Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve, Clone 6, Rutherford, Napa Valley">2005 Bell Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve, Clone 6, Rutherford, Napa Valley</A> -- 2005 Bell Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve, Clone 6, Rutherford, Napa Valley <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product112 TITLE="2005 Bell Wine Cellars Claret, Napa Valley">2005 Bell Wine Cellars Claret, Napa Valley</A> -- 2005 Bell Wine Cellars Claret, Napa Valley <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product122 TITLE="2005 Bell Wine Cellars Merlot, Napa Valley">2005 Bell Wine Cellars Merlot, Napa Valley</A> -- 2005 Bell Wine Cellars Merlot, Napa Valley <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product91 TITLE="2005 Bell Wine Cellars Petit Verdot">2005 Bell Wine Cellars Petit Verdot</A> -- 2005 Bell Wine Cellars Petit Verdot <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product92 TITLE="2005 Bell Wine Cellars Petit Verdot">2005 Bell Wine Cellars Petit Verdot</A> -- 2005 Bell Wine Cellars Petit Verdot <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product93 TITLE="2005 Bell Wine Cellars Petite Sirah">2005 Bell Wine Cellars Petite Sirah</A> -- 2005 Bell Wine Cellars Petite Sirah <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product42 TITLE="2005 Bell Wine Cellars Syrah, Massa Ranch, Yountville">2005 Bell Wine Cellars Syrah, Massa Ranch, Yountville</A> -- 2005 Bell Wine Cellars Syrah, Massa Ranch, Yountville <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product116 TITLE="2005 Bell Wine Cellars Talianna">2005 Bell Wine Cellars Talianna</A> -- 2005 Bell Wine Cellars Talianna <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product6 TITLE="2005 Bell Wine Cellars Zinfandel, Napa Valley">2005 Bell Wine Cellars Zinfandel, Napa Valley</A> -- 2004 Bell Wine Cellars Zinfandel, Napa Valley <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product135 TITLE="2006 Bell Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley">2006 Bell Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley</A> -- 2006 Bell Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product137 TITLE="2006 Bell Wine Cellars Claret, Napa Valley">2006 Bell Wine Cellars Claret, Napa Valley</A> -- 2006 Bell Wine Cellars Claret, Napa Valley <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product136 TITLE="2006 Bell Wine Cellars Merlot, Napa Valley">2006 Bell Wine Cellars Merlot, Napa Valley</A> -- 2006 Bell Wine Cellars Merlot, Napa Valley <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product117 TITLE="2006 Bell Wine Cellars Syrah, Canterbury Vineyards, Sierra Foothills">2006 Bell Wine Cellars Syrah, Canterbury Vineyards, Sierra Foothills</A> -- 2006 Bell Wine Cellars Syrah, Canterbury Vineyards, Sierra Foothills <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product59 TITLE="Bell Wine Cellars Port, Sierra Foothills">Bell Wine Cellars Port, Sierra Foothills</A> -- Bell Wine Cellars Port, Sierra Foothills <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine/Product12 TITLE="Bell Wine Cellars Reserve Port">Bell Wine Cellars Reserve Port</A> -- Bell Wine Cellars Reserve Port <A HREF="http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine" TITLE="Bell Wine Cellars Products">Bell Wine Cellars Products</A> <A HREF="http://bellwine.com">Bell Wine Cellars</A> Bell Wine Cellars <A HREF="http://www.nexternal.com" TITLE="ecommerce software">ecommerce software</A> powered by Nexternal