Dark garnet color. Dark cherry, plum and chocolate, leather and smoked meat with hints of cinnamon, clove and vanilla. Vibrant acidity leads into full bodied flavors of cherry, plum and smoked meat with just a touch of spice and vanilla on the finish. The tannins are firm but they integrate nicely with the acidity leading into a long and captivating finish.
Grapes are from Bel’ Villa Vineyard’s South Block, which is in the Red Mountain AVA. This wine was cold soaked overnight then inoculated with yeast, fermented for 9 days on skins while being pumped over twice daily before pressing to barrels, where it was inoculated with malo-lactic bacteria. It was 100% barrel aged for 10 months in 100% new oak consisting of 33% French and 67% American.
Harvest Notes: As in 2010, 2011 was another excellent but slightly unusual vintage in Washington State. The La Nina current again made for cool spring temperatures, which delayed bud break and slowed early season growth. When combined with a warm but not particularly hot summer, veraison was one to two weeks late, which meant Merlot, an early season ripening variety, came off during a cooler time of year than usual, resulting in expressive, concentrated fruit and color, lower alcohol and wonderful acidity.
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