"The 2006 Merlot Neyers Ranch possesses sweet mocha and caramel notes intermixed with black cherry, roasted herbs, and spicy oak. The wine is medium-bodied, supple-textured, and ideal for drinking in its first 5-6 years of life. More tannin and structure suggest this wine needs several years of bottle age, and should evolve for 12-15 or more years."
90 Points
- Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate
December 2007
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2006 Merlot Neyers Ranch - Conn Valley
These grapes were harvested on October 31, 2006 from our 50-acre, organically farmed ranch in Conn Valley, a few miles east of the Napa River. They were fully de-stemmed, then fermented for 45 days on the skins. After 14 months of aging in 60-gallon French oak barrels, the wine was bottled, without fining or filtration, in February 2008. It's a bit of winemaking irony that the long maceration we use for most of our red wines both lowers the final alcohol level (by letting the ethyl alcohol "react" with itself to form more complex alcohol compounds) and softens the wine (by allowing its tannins to combine and drop out of solution). The result is an approachable, forward-tasting red wine that has the aroma and complex flavors of French Bordeaux. Think of it as a Right Bank version, however, for it's in the villages of Pomerol and St. Emilion that Merlot reaches its greatest heights. The small yields in 2006 - less than half of the crop size from the 2005 vintage - and the late ripening growing season have enabled us to produce a wine that serves as a benchmark for Merlot produced in California. The blend is 80% Merlot, with 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc.
3,000 cases produced
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