Nose

Aromas of fresh, ripe blueberries, ripe plum and black currant intertwine with notes of cedar, vanilla and pie crust.

Palate

This medium- bodied wine is plush with flavors of plums, blueberries and figs upfront, leading to juicy red fruit on the midpalate. Delicious now, its depth and structure provide long cellaring potential.

Growing Conditions

Our Merlot is grown in estate-owned and grower-partner vineyards on the Napa side of Carneros, where the clay soils are similar to those of Bordeaux’s Right Bank. The cool climate allows the thin-skinned grapes to gradually develop flavor and tannin while retaining natural acidity.

A wet winter with moderate rainfall, a mild spring and a warm summer created the ideal growing season. Very warm weather at the beginning of harvest accelerated the need to pick early on in the season. Sustainable farming practices throughout the growing season were tailored to each block with the assistance of aerial photos produced using NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) technology. The fruit was hand-picked at night and sorted in the vineyard.

Winemaking

The grapes were carefully destemmed and optically sorted to ensure only perfect fruit made it into the wine. A cold soak extracted color and flavor. About 25% of the wine
was barrel-fermented to provide a richer, more textured palate. The wine was gently basket-pressed before being racked to French oak barrels for aging.

Aging

16 months in French oak barrels (40% new)

Food Pairing

Our favorite Joy of Cooking® pairings* for this wine include Seared Pork Chops with Mustard Green Chimichurri, Beef Braciole or Pate de Campagne.