Winemaker Notes:
This is a lovely, well balanced, elegant Merlot that offers
some old world style characters of strawberry, cherry and apple, with a hint of
floral basket and cherry cola. There are
some soft earth tones with olives, pepper and a chalky/limestone note that
plays well with the vanilla and cocoa aspect.
The wine shows very clean with a long bright fruit forward finish with a
big mouth feel. The tannins and oak are
well integrated with the fruit and compliment the complexity of the wine well;
ultimately a fruit forward, rich and elegant Merlot. I am very happy with this wine.
Ps. Forget the movie “Sideways”
and drink more MERLOT!
Vintage:
The 2015 vintage had some scary moments but ultimately we
came through unscathed. Some low temps
in early Spring had us all concerned about frost. Additionally we also saw some heavy rains in
the early spring keeping the viticulture team on their toes. The summer came on with little rain and
average temperatures for the state. The
rain then came back with a vengeance in late September to early October. Overall though the growing season was long
and did allow for good ripening.
Determining the best day to pick was the key to success. I think we will see some good wines from Virginia
vineyards for 2015
Blend
75% Merlot, 12.5% Malbec, 12.5% Petit Verdot
Harvest
The merlot was picked on 9/9/2015 at 23.4 Brix, 0.4.75g/L TA
and 3.72 pH. The malbec was picked on
9/9/15 at 21.0 Brix, 0.724g/L TA and 3.70 pH.
The petit verdot was picked on 10/2/15 at 20 brix, 0.95g/L TA and 3.59
pH
Vineyard Source:
Wessex
Hundred, Williamsburg, VA – 75%
Mt. Juliet Vineyard, Crozet, VA –
25%
Fermentation
The Merlot was cold soaked for 10 days and then fermented in
stainless steel for 8 days with Cepage Merlot yeast. The malbec was cold soaked for 12 days and
then fermented in French oak barrels for 6 days with D254 Yeast. The petit
verdot was cold soaked for 3 days and then fermented in stainless steel for 5 days
with D254 Yeast. All three were racked
twice before going into final barrel.
Aging
The wine was aged for 12 months in 12% new French oak, 38% 1
year French oak, 12% 2 year French oak, 26% 2 year American oak and 12% 3 year
French oak.
Bottling Date
17 January 2017 – 194 cases
Release Date
February 2017
Technical
Information
11.8% Alc.
3.58 pH
0.662g/L TA
0.30 RS (dry)
