Nose
Complex aromas of orange marmalade, butterscotch, lemon meringue, ripe peach, baking spices, and mineral notes.
Palate
On the palate, the entry is very bright and leads to a generously framed mid-palate, with lots of fruit
concentration, depth, and mid-palate volume. Flavors of citrus, pineapple and tropical fruit are
interwoven with complex barrel notes. The finish is lengthened by fine barrel tannins and
notes of spice and toast. Silhouette is our most age-worthy white wine, and will gain
complexity over the next 5-10 years.
Growing Conditions
Silhouette is Merryvale’s limited production, top white wine. Each vintage our very best
Chardonnay fruit goes into Silhouette, and in 2012 the wine is comprised of grapes grown on our Stanly Ranch Estate Vineyard and the neighboring Hyde Vineyard in Carneros. All indications are that the 2012 vintage will be a memorable one, thanks to a classic growing season which gave us excellent quality as well as generous yields in all varieties. 100% from the Napa side of Carneros: 91% Merryvale Stanly Ranch Estate, 9% Hyde Vineyard. The extended growing season in 2012 was ideal for flavor and tannin development and retaining acidity.
Harvest
Harvest ran at a moderate pace until the middle of October, but ramped up through the end of the month requiring long days and nights in the field and on the crush pad in order to bring everything in at optimal maturity.
Winemaking
The grapes for Silhouette were handpicked at peak ripeness, and hand sorted before a gentle whole cluster pressing. Long, cool native primary and malolactic fermentations with extended lees contact,
Aging
The wine was aged for 18 months in 85% new French oak barrels.
Appearance
Our 2012 Silhouette is golden straw in color.
