2014 Reserve Merlot
The wine has high tone notes of fresh herbs and black olives. Dense layers of cedar, plum and figs round out the mid palate.
The 2014 Reserve Merlot is our first ever Merlot hailing from my former stomping grounds of the Napa Valley. The vineyard lies in the Southern region of the Valley in an area known as Coombsville. The vineyard is farmed Biodynamically and sits just above the fog in San Pablo Bay. 2014 was a very early, hot, dry year and this fruit was picked in early September. It came to us 72 hours after it was picked in a refrigerated truck.
Once off the truck we immediately destemmed the fruit with no crushing of the berries. We followed the destemming up with a 5-day cold soak at 50 degrees to insure the most extraction possible. Fermentation lasted nearly 3 weeks and was pressed off at full dryness. Only the free run was captured and then put down to barrel for aging. We used 50% new French Oak barrels. After 20 months of aging we bottled the mere 186 cases in early July. The wine is a masterpiece and I am so excited for you to try it!
The wine has high tone notes of fresh herbs and black olives. Dense layers of cedar, plum and figs round out the mid palate. This wine will easily age for 7 to 10 years but enjoy it in its youth too. If you can, I would recommend decanting it before drinking.
My ideal pairing with the 2014 Reserve Merlot is a Rack of Lamb with a side of fresh horseradish sauce with a splash of mint jelly.
