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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2015 and 2019 (based on 1 user opinion) |
| Community Tasting History |
| 2013 Bench MerlotVineyard: On a north-facing ridge in Sonoma County's Knights Valley AVA at elevations ranging from 300 to 1300 feet is the Totem Ridge Vineyard. Most vines were planted in 1991 under the guidance of the renowned Paul VanderSchalie, whose work as a viticulturist in Knights Valley spanned thirty years and included his influence on nearby Peter Michael Winery. The soil is a rich, rocky volcanic loam that give the distinctive intensity to Merlot from this AVA.
Vintage: After two challenging years of weather, in 2012, Mother Nature gave growers one of the best harvests in recent history. Growing conditions throughout the year produced an abundant crop of mature grapes with balanced flavors and good structure. A wealth of California coastal weather - fog in the morning, and warm sunshine in the afternoon - often sent temperatures into the mid 90s, quickly cooling off after sunset. The daily cyclical temperature shift often hit 50 degrees, and continued into September ripening fruit evenly and slowly. Fruit quality was exceptional.
Fermentation: The grapes were de-stemmed only, then transferred by gravity to stainless steel fermentation tanks. After a long cold soak, the must was allowed to warm and ferment with indigenous yeast. The new wine stayed on the grape skins for an extended maceration to develop mouthfeel and structure. Malolactic fermentation was left to complete indigenously.
pH: 3.62
TA: .66g/100ml
Alcohol: 13.9%
Cooperage & Aging: 100% French oak, 30% new, to preserve the wine's bright aromatics. The wine was aged for 14 months until bottling.MerlotMerlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to be a diminutive of merle, the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color of the grape. Its softness and "fleshiness", combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to be higher in tannin.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Sonoma CountyMendocino County |
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