Winemaker's Notes

This Merlot comes from the Kreck family estate in the southern Alexander Valley. This block is situated on a Western-facing, gentle sloping vineyard that exudes the natural beauty of the Alexander Valley. These grapes were hand harvested in the early morning hours on August 9^th, 2021, when the air is the coolest and the night is at its darkest. Once the block has been picked, the fruit travels from the Kreck family estate to the Winery, here in Dry Creek Valley. The grapes were destemmed and hand sorted, shortly after they were transferred to a stainless steel tank to start fermentation where the wine was pumped over and monitored daily from the start of alcoholic fermentation until reaching the end of malolactic fermentation. This Merlot was barrel aged in 100% French oak for 22 months before bottling.

 

Tasting Notes

Our 2021 Alexander Valley Merlot offers an exciting, yet traditional taste of this AVA’s luxury and decadence. It’s aromatics are sprinkled with hints of wild blueberry, vanilla bean and freshly harvest black currants. This Merlot has a generous amount of plushness through the middle palate and is nicely structured with an evenness of acidity and tannic balance. This wine has a smooth finish and can tend to linger on the senses, asking for another sip. A balancing of flavors, between freshly made wild berry jam, acidic and juicy but also delivering decadent flavors including cacao and dried rosemary. This wine can be enjoyed now but can also continue to age, allowing it even greater potential to express its complexity between both bright and softer characteristics. This wine is paired beautifully with goat cheese and truffle lasagna, seared trumpet mushrooms with duck breast or even as a compliment to an aged cheese and wild-game salumi board.

 

Technical Data