2005
Bocage Merlot
San Saba Vineyards
|
A pleasurable wine to drink, this fruit forward Merlot exhibits lots of bright cherry and fresh plum flavors. French and American oak add vanilla, spice, dill and coffee. The medium-fine tannins compliment the fruit in the mouth along with spicy cocoa oak flavors.
Varietals
| Percent Varietal | Vineyard, Appellation |
|---|---|
| 92% Merlot | |
| 8% Malbec |
Production
3100 cases of 750 ml (Standard Bottle) bottles
Fermentation Notes
Each section of our vineyard was carefully followed for changes in flavor and ripeness to ensure that we only picked fruit at its best. We brought the hand picked and sorted fruit to the winery early in the morning and destemmed directly to tank with 75% whole berries. The must was pumped over once a day until indigenous yeast began fermenting and then commercial yeast was added to the tanks. After inoculation, aerative pump-overs were done twice a day until dryness and then the must was drained and gently pressed. After the first racking, the wine was aged with a combination of two and three year old French and American oak barrels.
Vintage Notes
A warm winter and spring resulted in early bud break. Temperatures stayed warm and by mid-May, degree days were 10% ahead of normal. There was a heat spike late August during which many area vineyards picked. We kept the clusters on the vine to develop further and temperatures cooperated, cooling off for the last month. Even with this extra time, harvest was September 28, two weeks earlier than normal.