2009 SINGLE VINEYARD LIMITED MERLOT
Tasting notes
Dark purple color. Aromas of blackberry, plum and tart red raspberry, toasted almond and butterscotch with hints of milk chocolate, cinnamon,smoke and sage. The palate is medium to full bodied with a slightly sweet and dusty entry followed by raspberry and plum fruits and a hint of vanilla. The tannins are firm with nicely balancing acidity.
Grapes are from Bel’Villa Vineyard’s South Block, which is in the Red Mountain AVA. This wine was cold soaked overnight then co-inoculated with yeast and m-l bacteria, fermented for 7 days on skins while being pumped over twice daily before pressing to barrels. It is 100% barrel aged for an average of 14 months in all new oak consisting of 67% French and 33% American.
Harvest Notes: 2009 was a fairly “normal” year early on, which led to normal set. The summer had normal heat units but about half the average number of days over 100 Fahrenheit, which meant photosynthesis was maximized, leading to earlier than usual sugar accumulation and concurrent ripening of normally separated varieties. Combine this with a hotter than normal 3rd week of September, which caused some premature shriveling, and a frost the 10th of October, and it made for a very busy first 3 weeks of September and a “crazy” last week of September and 3 weeks in October. Our vineyards and those we purchase fruit from worked diligently to harvest “on time”, which maximized fruit quality, leading to another great vintage.
| Vintage | 2009 |
| Varietal | Merlot |
| Varietal Composition | 100% Merlot |
| Appellation | Red Mountain |
| Vineyard | 100% Bel’ Villa |
| Acid | 6.5 g/L |
| PH | 3.59 |
| Alcohol | 14.30% |
| Volume | 750 ml |
| Cases Produced | 69 cases |
