2006 SIGNATURE SELECTION MERLOT

The 2006 growing season was most noted for its considerable heat spells in early summer, resulting in slower production by the vines. A cooling off in late July and early August to near perfect conditions lead to expected yields of superior quality, especially in the red varietals, which had ideal “hang time” fairly consistent climate during the final six to eight weeks on the vine. Overall, quality was very good, which will yield wines which are complex and well-structured.

The small, individual lots of grapes comprising the 2006 Signature Selection Merlot were brought into the winery in the early morning hours where they were gently crushed and sent to small stainless steel fermentation tanks. After a “cold soak” period of 48-72 hours each lot was innoculated with a special strain of yeast, enhancing richness and varietal characteristic. During a 7-10 day fermentation each lot of wine was “pumped over” the cap of skins twice daily, extracting color, flavor and structure from skins. After an extended maceration of 14-21 days, the free-run wine was racked by gravity flow to new French oak barrels for ageing, during which malo-lactic fermentation took place, further softening the acidity of each wine. After 24 months in barrel the final blend was assembled and returned to barrel for an additional six months to allow for full integration of the components, all leading to a soft, rich and complex wine.