2007 Merlot Geek Notes

Vintage:

The 2007 vintage started out cool but moderate summer temperatures kept the vintage on track. A warm September gracefully finished maturing the fruit, creating a classic Washington vintage. The resulting wine’s bold flavors are tempered by the supple tannins smoothed out over 18 months of aging in small French and American barrels.

Vineyard:

50% Wells Vineyard, Benton City; 44% Coyote Canyon, Horse Heaven Hills; 6% Berghan Vineyard, Walla Walla Valley

Winemaking:

·  Crushed and then put into fermentation tanks to cold soak for two days to allow color and flavor extraction

· Fermented 10-14 days in stainless steel tanks, hand punched three times a day, temperatures do not exceed 85° fahrenheit

· Aged 19 months in 50% new oak barrels, 1/2 French 1/2 American

· Racked four times and coarse filtered

Technical Data:

· Harvested: Sept. 12-13, 2006

· Bottled: June 26, 2008

· Released: September, 2010

· Brix  24.36°-23.6°

· pH: 3.64

 · Alcohol: 14%

· Cases produced: 394

Awards: