Robert Young Estate Winery Merlot Vines     
Merlot is a fickle and finicky grape. Jim Young believes the success of his 80 acres of Merlot is due in part to the very warm days and very cool nights in the eastern hills of Alexander Valley, and due in part to farming techniques.
 


TECHNICAL DATA:
Appellation: Alexander Valley
Release Date: September 1, 2005
Variety: 100% Merlot
Harvest Dates: October 1-5, 2002
Brix at Harvest: 25.0
Cooperage: Aged in French oak barrels for 24 months
Bottling: February 28, 2005
Production: 237 cases Alcohol: 14.3

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2002 ALEXANDER VALLEY MERLOT

WINEMAKER KEVIN WARREN’S TASTING NOTES

“My 2002 Alexander Valley Merlot is packed with aromas and flavors of dark cherries, plums, cherry pie and touches of vanilla and oak. The wine is rich and full with a smooth lingering finish. I can recommend this wine with or without food.

I aged the wine for 24 months in French oak barrels in our cave, topping each barrel by hand monthly to keep it fresh. We bottled the wine on January 28th, 2005, which gave the wine nine months to get over the shock of moving from the barrels to its new home before I allowed it to be released. ”

The vintage of 2002 in California is considered by many as one of the best we’ve seen in a long time. Certainly, most all wines made from all varietals in 2002 were opulent, fruit driven, round and packed with flavor. The grapes from that year gave up their essence: flavors, aromas, and body components from the skins and skin region of the berries were readily extracted into the grape juice and finally into the wines of the vintage. Merlot was no exception.

To get a handle on the Robert Young Estate Winery 2002 Merlot, you can take the general characteristics of the vintage and double them. By managing the Merlot crop levels to yields of eight to ten pounds per vine (extremely low yields by industry standards), monitoring water levels in the vines (to keep berry sizes small), and taking fruit only from premier sections of the estate’s steep hillside vineyards, our 2002 Merlot turned out to be a stunning wine. The wine was made from start to finish by one man: winemaker Kevin Warren. Only 237 cases were produced, all of which were aged in French oak for over two years in the winery’s caves. This wine is a collector’s item which can be held for many years before drinking. On the other hand, our 2002 Merlot is ready to drink immediately due to the long ageing process it experienced before release.


This wine has not been sent out for review.

Robert Young Estate Winery phone: 707 431-4811 fax: 707 431-4812 email: info@ryew.com