Country: | United States |
Region: | Washington |
Winery: | Merriman |
Grape Types: | Chardonnay Chenin Blanc |
Vintage: | 2013 |
Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
Babylons Peak Chenin Blanc is made from 100 percent Chenin Blanc.
Babylon's Peak winery, situated on the highest weathered granite slopes of the Paardeberg Mountain, is privately owned by the Basson family who has passed down the tradition, passion and art of winemaking over four generations. Predominantly low-yield dryland bushvines are selected to produce these excellent wines with distinctive character.
The Chenin Blanc grapes were picked from very old dryland bushvine vineyards. The vineyard grows on weathered granite soils, contributing to the flavor of the grapes and mineral character of the wine. Production is limited to 5 tons/ha.
The grapes were harvest by hand at 22.1°B. The grapes were destalked and lightly crushed. Only the first 450 litres free-run juice per ton were fermented in stainless steel tanks at a cold temperature (10-12°C) for 21 days. The wines was left on the fermentation lees until bottling.
A crisp, fresh and fruity Chenin Blanc from low-yield dryland bushvines.
Pairs with salads, seafood, chicken and other light dishes. The perfect wine for every occasion.
Kasteelberg Chenin Blanc is made from 100 percent Chenin Blanc.
The Kasteelberg range of wines celebrates the discovery of the Riebeek Valley and the Kasteelberg mountains in 1661. Kasteelberg stands sentinel over the fertile valley below. From the slopes of the mountains, hand-selected grapes are expertly crafted with care to produce rare and expressive wines.
Limited release, single-vineyard Chenin Blanc from hand-selected grapes from the foothills of the majestic Kasteelberg Mountain, Kasteelberg Chenin Blanc embodies excellent craftsmanship that transforms the harsh Swartland terroir into the pinnacle of our winemakers’ art.
Together with the age-old tradition of Dry Land viticulture, it resulted in an elegant, aromatic and richly textured wine, with characteristics typical to Chenin Blanc grown under these conditions. Citrus, lemon zest, ripe apple and tropical flavors are only some of the flavors that charm the nose. The palate follows through with flavors of melon, a touch of spice and well-integrated wood for exceptional balance and a luxurious, lingering finish.
Once harvested, the grapes are hand-sorted, de-stemmed & crushed into temperature-controlled gravitational drainers. Only the free-run juice is chilled and settled overnight. The juice is then racked off into new, 300 L, oak barrels (50% French oak, 50% Hungarian oak) and wild yeast fermented in the barrels. Fermentation is temperature controlled and lasted around 22 days. The wine is then matured in the oak barrel on the gross lees for 12 months before being racked off, filtered and bottled. After bottling the wine is further bottle-matured for at least 6 months before release.
Riebeek Chenin Blanc is made from 100 percent Chenin Blanc.
As the unofficial drink of the Riebeek Valley, the Riebeek Chenin Blanc is the perfect every day wine that offers uncomplicated quality for the novice and connoisseur alike.
Packed with upfront tropical fruit, the nose charms with an abundance of guava and gooseberries. The pallets follows through with fruit flavors, balanced by a crisp acid to ensure a fresh and fruity style of wine.
Grapes came from both bosstok and trellised vines with some of the vineyards as old as 46 years. Fermentation was done at lower than usual temperatures to capture the fresh fruit flavors.
Very accessible and suited to almost every occasion, the Riebeek Chenin Blanc never disappoints.
The Stone Corral Vineyard is planted on a southeast slope on the west side of the Edna Valley which has an east/west orientation opening up to the Pacific Ocean from Morro Bay and Pismo Beach. Approximately 120 to 300 feet above sea level, the climate is strongly influenced by the ocean providing ideal temperate growing conditions for Pinot Noir. Early spring warming, mild summer temperatures and late arriving cold fall temperatures and rain provide a long growing season for the development of rich color, concentrated and complex flavors. Soil profiles vary between blocks from sand, sandy loam, loamy sand, pebbly sandy clay loam, all fine angular blocky , including decomposing sandstone layers and numerous fossil rocks. The soils are well drained and marine in origin, resulting in an elegant Pinot Noir with extraordinary attributes.
This gem is a blend of a few precious, select barrels hailing from the finest blocks of Stone Corral Vineyard. Offers blue-toned fruit on the nose and a pretty bouquet of black raspberry, sandstone, marzipan and wild lupine flowers. Opulent, yet delicate on the palate, with velvety layers of cola nut, cherry, dried herbs and pecan sandie cookies.
Wine analysis – 13.7% Alcohol, .69 TA, 3.5pH
- A barrel select Stone Corral Vineyard bottling, utilizing the finest blocks and clones of the 2013 vintage
- Blend of clones 115, 777 and 667 on 101-14 and 3309 rootstalks
- Hand harvested, cold fruit from night picks during the month of September 2013
- Yield about 2 tons per acre between 23.8 and 24.5 ° Brix
- Destemmed with nearly 100 % whole berries remaining
- Fermented in small open top tanks
- 4 day cold soak, average 14 day fermentation, peak temperature 83°
- Hand punched down several times daily as needed
- Pressed off just dry, tank settled then racked to barrels
- Aged in small French oak barrels for 18 months
- Once the fresh wine is transferred from the press pan, all moving of the wine is done with inert gas pressure.
When handling the wine, care is taken at all opportunities to avoid shear.
"This bottling comes from the best blocks and barrels from this single vineyard, co-owned by a number of Edna Valley luminaries. The result is stunning, with baked raspberry, strawberry, maple, and peppery bacon aromas comprising a spicy, exotic nose. Black plum fruit melds with white pepper and crushed herbs, diving into tangy strawberry and sandalwood incense notes on the finish. - Matt Kettmann"
- Wine Enthusiast Magazine (April 1st 2017), 95 pts
Paysan Sauvignon Blanc Zabala Vineyard is made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc.
Paysan Sauvignon Blanc comes from Zabala Vineyard - located on a large holding on the Arroyo Seco floodplains that was part of land granted to the Zabala family before California’s statehood. It was first planted in the 1970s and has grown to encompass over 1000 acres. Zabala Vineyard is one of the rockiest vineyard I Brand works with, full of what is locally known as ‘Greenfield Potatoes’, which are the rather inedible round river stones that dominate the soil and have been collected into piles and walls at every property in the basin. This vineyard is located directly in the path of the daily Salinas Valley winds, which control sugar development and retain natural acidity. Certified organic grapes.
Tasting Notes: Light-bodied. Aromatic explosion on the nose. Lime, gooseberry, green melon, grapefruit, white peach, passion fruit. Crisp, tart, clean with bright acidity on the palate. Neutral oak ageing provides subtle creaminess, while still exhibiting trademark green notes.
SALE!
Lodi, American Viticulture Area (AVA) – The Lodi AVA is located in the northern end of the San Joaquin Valley, Central Valley California, east of the San Francisco Bay. Lodi has warm days and cool nights, similar to the Mediterranean climate. The lower temperatures that occur in Lodi result in fruit with good acidity. A wide range of soils are found in the Lodi AVA, but they generally are deep, loamy, sandy, rocky soils similar to that found in southern Rhone valley.
The Lodi appellation totals almost one half million acres, and the approximately eight hundred growers farm roughly 90,000 acres. Lodi produces more Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, and Zinfandel than any other wine region in California, but it is probably best known for its old vine Zinfandel. The vines are often head trained giving them a classic old world appearance.
Zinfandel – The Zinfandel grape is a hearty variety that produces grapes with high sugar levels, often resulting in wines with a high alcohol content. Thought to be a relative of Primitivo that is found in southeast of Italy (the boot heel), Zinfandel can be made into a wide range of wine styles, including White Zinfandel, light or full bodied red wines, and even late harvest desert style wine. However Zinfandel, especially Old Vine Zinfandel from Lodi, is usually made into a full bodied, spicy red wine with characteristics of red fruit, raspberry, and cherry.
Produced in the heart of Lodi AVA.
Rubus Zinfandel Lodi is made from 98% Zinfandel + 2% Cabernet Sauvignon
Bottled after aging in French and American oak for 9 months.
Rubus Zinfandel Lodi presents with ruby red in color, with red fruit, raspberry, and spice on the nose. This wine is medium in body, with notes of ripe cherry, cedar box, cinnamon, anise, black pepper, and hint of smoke on the palate. It has a long, silky finish.
Selected by Fran Kysela MS.
Merriman Old Vine Chenin Blanc has aromas of bees wax, honeysuckle, gold raspberries, guava and box elder. A caramel flan richness of texture shocked with vibrant acids and flavors of peach, myrrh and toasted pecans. Serve cellar temperature.
Clusters were destemmed and allowed to soak on skins for 4 hours prior to gentle pressing, allowing the juice to reveal the beautiful and delicate character of this Loire varietal. Once pressed, the juice undergoes primary fermentation in stainless steel drums and then allowed to age in neutral French oak for 6 months.
The vineyard was planted in 1973, and is located in the high desert of Washington state.
Harvest was September 30, at 21.5 brix and 3.1pH. ABV 13.2%
Merriman Estate
Since the first vintage in 2006, Merriman Wines has been working to produce exceptional Oregon wines. The winery is named after owner Mike Merriman, a Texas native with a passion for Oregon and the world-class Pinot Noir produced there.
The vineyard was planted in 1999 on an east facing ridge, entirely to Pinot Noir. The vines are not irrigated, encouraging the roots to grow deeper into the ground in search of water. The clones planted are the Dijon 113,114,115,667, and 777, as well as Wadenswil and Pommard. We use only sustainable viticultural practices, and the Merriman Vineyard received LIVE and Salmon Safe certification in 2008. We crop the grapes in many blocks to just one cluster per shoot, ensuring ripeness and flavor development. Yields on top of the ridge can be as little as one ton per acre or even less in some years. It is that fruit which goes into the Merriman blend. The Cummins Road is a blend of some of the Dijon clone blocks, chosen to highlight the bright Pinot fruit from the vineyard hillside.
The dry farmed, east facing vineyard slope allows the cool breezes at night and warm morning sun to grow the grapes slowly, giving the wine its complexity and allowing the unique terroir of the vineyard to come through in your glass.
Inglenook Rubicon is made from 93% Cabernet Sauvignon 7% Cabernet Franc.
Since its inaugural vintage in 1978, Rubicon has been the Estate's premier red wine, reflecting the soul of the property and expressing Francis Coppola's wish to create a Bordeaux-styled grand wine, that is, "a wine that can please contemporary taste, but with a historical aspect [that defines] our vineyards at their zenith."
Rubicon was named after the small river crossed by Julius Caesar in 49 B.C., declaring his intention to gain control of Rome, thereby launching a civil war among opposing factions. Over time the phrase "crossing the Rubicon" has come to signify any irreversible action with revolutionary intent or the outcome of which holds great risk. True to its uncommon depth, Inglenook's Rubicon continues to be a testament to the finely tuned rendering of a risk well-taken.
2016:
After four years of drought, a winter with average rainfall was welcome, as it provided ample soil moisture for a strong start to the 2016 growing season. Average late-spring temperatures and limited precipitation minimized the risk of frost during mid-May bloom, ensuring average yields. June closed with a heat spell, slowing vine canopy growth at the ideal time. Harvest of the blocks contributing to the 2016 Inglenook Rubicon blend occurred under optimum conditions from September 6th through September 27th.
Ideal harvest conditions endowed the 2016 Rubicon with the three elements associated with a truly great wine from the Rutherford appellation: complexity, balance, and elegance. The aromas are intense and focused with top notes of creamy, sweet vanilla, and black licorice wound around a core of exquisitely ripe black cherry and crème de cassis. This refinement extends directly to the palate, where the wine is both broad and deep with sensuous, silky tannins. Supremely balanced in terms of both opulence and complexity, ripe black fruits and an ultra-smooth texture provide an impressive crescendo to a very long finish.
Review:
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Rubicon is a wine of total precision and class. Translucent and energetic, with distinctly mid-weight structure, the 2016 is a wine of reserve, tension and breeding. Shy at first, the 2016 has a lot to offer, but it needs a number of years in bottle to be at its most expressive. Cedar, tobacco, licorice and wild cherry add the closing nuances.
- Antonio Galloni 97 Points
Corne Loup Cotes du Rhone Rouge is made from 50% Grenache, 40% Syrah and 10% Mourvedre.
Color: dark red ruby.
Aromas: red berries, truffles and spices.
Flavors: complex and rich. It shows red and black fruits, with an herbal spice type of aromas coming from the surrounding vegetation (Garrigue).
The average age of the vines is 40 years. (The oldest vines are 80 years old). Yield: 40 hl/ha The soil is mainly sandy marl and small pebble stones.
Lamb, duck, turkey, red meat, game and cheese.