2014 SINGLE VINEYARD LIMITED MERLOT
Tasting notes
Ripe red fruits, cherry cola, milk chocolate, cinnamon and cloves, with a touch of old leather and dusty cocoa. This wine is lush silky and smooth and bursting with red fruit flavor and mocha on the finish. A classic Washington Merlot, definitely not one to miss.
Cellaring: As with all Red Mountain red wines, it should age well, probably peaking in 15 years, but still a great wine even at 20-30 years old.
Grapes are from Bel’ Villa Vineyard. This wine was cold soaked overnight then inoculated with yeast, fermented for 6 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 18 months in 100% new American oak.
Harvest notes: 2014 was warm early and stayed warm until harvest, the hottest since 1998. Ripe and the Brix that go with it were no problem this vintage and it was very fast, short growing season. Heat began early and remained constant which helped plants and fruit clusters acclimate to the extreme heat. With nights still cooling berry shrivel and raisining was nonexistent. With little to no rainfall throughout the year mildew problems were of no concern. One problem for wine makers was the early ripening of all varieties which made it challenging for harvesting grapes at their optimum. However, our long term relationships with our growers and vigilant testing (and the earlier than usual picking that went with it), helped us to pick grapes at their optimum. Riper, richer flavors predominate. Plenty of lushness in 2014.
| Vintage | 2014 |
| Varietal | Merlot |
| Varietal Composition | 100% Merlot |
| Appellation | Red Mountain AVA |
| Vineyard | 100% Bel’ Villa Vineyard |
| Acid | 6.6 g/L |
| PH | 4.03 |
| Aging | As with all Red Mountain red wines, it should age well, probably peaking in 15 years, but still a great wine even at 20-30 years old. |
| Alcohol | 14.50% |
| Volume | 750 ml |
| Cases Produced | Production: 52 12-pack cases |
