2010 Merlot ~ Library Reserve 1 bottle limit

That clippity-clop you hear isn’t the sound of rain drops, or Santa’s reindeer on the roof, it’s the sound of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse bearing down on your kitchen. Why they would make clippity- clop noises instead of something more fearsome like a freight train is a secret I’ll never know. However, they’re coming, and it’s all because I’ve released a 100% Merlot. You’ve heard me rail in the past about no Merlot being good enough on its own. Well guess what? It can only mean one thing…

The grapes for our first Paso Robles Merlot release were hand selected from the Halter Ranch Vineyard, deep in the Westside of Paso Robles and what is being considered by some as a true Premier Cru vineyard site. They were de-stemmed and fermented in small one-ton open top fermentation vats. Upon dry, the must was pressed, settled, and the wine taken down into a mix of new French, American, and neutral barrels. The wine saw two rackings over the two+ years it spent in barrel. The result is an intensely colored wine with dark aromatics of black cherry cola, cedar, clove, and pencil shavings. Flavors of plum, blackberry, and chocolate/caramel with an immense plushness at the midpalate. A persistent thread of acidity lifts the dark fruits well into the finish. There are pretty substantial tannins that wrap around the tongue. Pair with beef, lamb, or as an aperitif.