2003 Reserve Merlot
Sonoma County
Alcohol 14.5%, pH 3.95, Total Acidity .51,
Residual sugar .02%.

Wine Notes [PDF]

Tasting Notes | The 2003 Reserve Merlot is very luscious in texture, intensely flavored (black cherry, toasted oak, cassis, and tobacco), and very long and persistent on the finish.  Enjoy this with dishes that highlight its intense fruitiness and texture, such as prime rib of beef, lamb sausages, or beef tortillas.
 
Winemaking | Crafted barrel by barrel from select vineyard blocks, only the finest lots receive the Reserve designation. The selection process for our Reserve Chardonnay begins in the vineyard, where we target hillside sites that consistently produce fruit with good acid structure, balance and delicate tropical flavors.

Vintage | Things could not have started off worse this vintage; with a cold, wet spring and periodic rains during the summer, all matter of fungus and mold were alive and well. The amount of extra time we spent adjusting and readjusting canopies and mowing and re-mowing vineyard rows, cost us about 20% more than normal.  Moving into harvest, just one rain could have knocked us out cold, but then a miracle!  30 plus days of perfect Indian summer. We ended up getting the grapes just the way we wanted them.  Unknown to us, the grapes continued to gain weight late in the year.  The extra weight slowed and lengthened the ripening process and this combined with great weather brought our grapes to perfect ripeness. The last grapes were picked on November 11, the latest ever for us in Sonoma.  The last press load was December 1st and by this time, we were sick of harvest. This was one of those very rare harvests where we got it both ways—exceptional quality and excellent yields. 

VINIFICATION: Each year, as part of our Reserve program, we select the best blocks from the best vineyards, which are then kept separate through the winemaking process until being selected, barrel-by-barrel, for the final blend. The lots with the finest track record were culled and re-selected again at the winery.  These were 100% cold (53 degrees F) barrel-fermented for about five weeks, underwent partial malolactic fermentation and were aged for 9 months in French oak barrels.  The finest barrels were selected, blended and bottled in July 2006.