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Price: $45.00 20% Discount to
Wine Club Members
TECHNICAL DATA:
Appellation: Alexander Valley
Release Date: September 1, 2006
Variety: 100% Merlot
Harvest Dates: October 16 & 23, 2003
Cooperage: Aged in 40% new French oak barrels for 24 months
Bottling: February 28, 2005
Production: 339 cases
Alcohol: 14.3
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2003 ALEXANDER VALLEY
MERLOT
Imagine
a dollop of your favorite berry preserves slathered on a
slab of lightly toasted bread. If you could bottle that
tasty comfort, you’d be somewhere in the vicinity of the
2003 Robert Young Estate Winery Merlot. Decant a glass,
and aromas of cinnamon, clove, and anise are followed by
a mouthful of cherries and berries. This velvety wine
caresses the palate with soft tannins, finishing like
apple berry cobbler with a touch of caramel.
Our Merlot, perhaps even more than Scion or Chardonnay,
is a labor of love, and in fact, a sort of valentine to
those we care about most. With only 14 barrels produced,
it is unavailable in wine shops and restaurants — in
fact, as often as our distributors and retail accounts
request it, we refuse. We’d rather just make it for
ourselves and for you, our family, friends, and club
members.
As always our Merlot grapes were managed to extremely
low yields: just after veraison, over half each vine’s
capacity was sacrificed for the good of the most evenly
developed bunches. What this means is that the fruit
that finally makes its way to the barrel is the very
best our hillside vineyard can muster.
One hundred and fifty years of farming and
ranching—cattle, wheat, vegetables, prunes—and it turns
out Merlot may be the perfect crop for the rolling hills
behind the old house. Go figure.
WINEMAKER KEVIN WARREN’S TASTING NOTES
“While 2003 ultimately turned out intense,
well-developed fruit, it was nerve-wracking for growers.
March’s unseasonable warmth preceded the wettest April
on record. A long summer of moderate temperatures
allowed fruit flavors to evolve.
A heat spike in September kicked harvest into high gear
initially, but early October temperatures were perfect
for letting the Merlot hang through the second week to
ensure the concentrated, highly extracted fruit for
which our Merlot is known.”
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 |
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