" We don't sell the wine without touching the vine "
Rainier Ridge Merlot 2006
No longer available.
| Country: | United States |
| Region: | Washington (Columbia Valley) |
| Winery: | Rainier Ridge Winery |
| Grape Type: | Merlot |
| Vintage: | 2006 |
| Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
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This one-hundred-percent Merlot has really nice, bright red fruit, rose petals, and a richness on the nose. Flavors of plum, mountain strawberry and mocha come together with a balanced mouth feel and a long finish. Though it was a cooler vintage, I feel we have still captured the powerfully elegant style for which we are known.
Review:
"Good dark red. Sexy, slightly exotic scents of black raspberry, blueberry, mocha, tobacco, chocolate, spices and licorice. Plush, densely packed and alive, conveying a restrained sweetness and outstanding depth to its pliant red berry, mocha and spice flavors. Spreads out to saturate the palate on the back half, finishing with serious but suave tannins and superb persistence. This utterly seamless Merlot really showcases its vintage. While it will give pleasure early for its sheer density and breadth, it maintained its verve for 48 hours in the recorked bottle and should age well. The swan song of longtime winemaker John Abbott, this beauty was finished by new winemaker Dan Wampfler. - Stephen Tanzer"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (October 2017), 93 pts
This one-hundred-percent Merlot has really nice, bright red fruit, rose petals, and a richness on the nose. Flavors of plum, mountain strawberry and mocha come together with a balanced mouth feel and a long finish. Though it was a cooler vintage, I feel we have still captured the powerfully elegant style for which we are known.
Review:
"Moderately saturated bright red-ruby. Sexy aromas of dark raspberry, mocha, red licorice, tobacco, minerals and cocoa nibs reminded me of a Right Bank wine. Plush, ripe and serious, with dusty herbs and spices enlivening the raspberry and plum fruit flavors; more red fruits than black here. Finishes with substantial but ripe well-integrated tannins and slowly building persistence. Not a powerhouse but uncommonly complex and refined for Washington Merlot. And more pliant at this stage than the 2016 was. (a blend of eight sites) - Stephen Tanzer"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (December 2019), 92 pts
Buccella Merlot Napa Valley is made from 94% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Our Merlot fruit comes from two blocks atop a knoll in the famed Hyde Vineyard, where harvests typically yield less than two tons per acre. It’s a youthful wine that’s invitingly approachable, while still offering the richness and decadence we love.
Our Merlot is fresh and vibrant, yet also lavishly textured and elegantly fine-tuned. With a swirl of the glass, you are enticed with aromas of sumptuous ripe plums, warm baking spices and a touch of sweet vanilla. Savory and structured, flavors ooze with raspberry jam, hazelnut spread and concentrated plum. Immersed in lush red fruits, each sip of this voluptuous wine hits pleasantly at the beautiful round mid-palate, then evenly dissipates leaving you yearning for another taste.
Hickinbotham Revivalist Merlot is made from 100 percent Merlot.
The Merlot for this red wine was sourced from vines planted in 1989 and 1976 at 220-245m altitude on a western facing aspect on the estate. During harvest, we hand-picked, de-stemmed, whole berry sorted, then 100% gently crushed. We then cold soaked, with native fermentation, and pumped over daily with a minimum of 21 days on skins. Basket pressed with light pressing included in free run, heavier pressings kept separate and not included, drained directly to barrel. The wine was racked and returned three times during maturation for 15 months, aged in fine-grain Bordeaux coopered barrels of which are approximately 25% new.
Review:
Hickinbotham's Bordeaux varieties are made by Napa Winemaker Chris Carpenter. The latest Merlot is up a quality notch from most Down Under. A mélange of cherry, licorice and scrubby Mediterranean herbs and spices is coated in a cola-driven sheen of polished oak. Lighter than others under this label, this is nonetheless a big wine which captures the juicy red fruit via lifted acidity and well-structured, savory tannins. Drink now–2028.
- Wine Enthusiast 93 Points
The Keermont Merlot is crimson to strawberry red in color. The nose opens with aromas of sweet cherries, but evolves into savory clove and forest floor notes. On the palate, the wine has a soft and subtle entry. The tannin structure is dusty and firm, but not overpowering. A fresh line of natural acidity holds the wine together from the initial flavors of red berries and herbal tomato paste through to a dry spicy finish. Drink 2016-2022.
Aged 22 months in French Oak Barrels.
All grapes used in producing our wines are grown on Keermont Vineyards. Most of the vineyard parcels grow on deep red clay rich soil derived from sandstone and granite and are surrounded by indigenous vegetation. They lie between 250 and 400 meters above sea level in the valley between the Stellenbosch and Helderberg mountain ranges and have a variety of aspects from North East to West facing.
Pair with red meat, pasta and pizza.
The Keermont Merlot is crimson to strawberry red in color. The nose opens with aromas of sweet cherries, but evolves into savory clove and forest floor notes. On the palate, the wine has a soft and subtle entry. The tannin structure is dusty and firm, but not overpowering. A fresh line of natural acidity holds the wine together from the initial flavors of red berries and herbal tomato paste through to a dry spicy finish.
Aged 22 months in French Oak Barrels.
All grapes used in producing our wines are grown on Keermont Vineyards. Most of the vineyard parcels grow on deep red clay rich soil derived from sandstone and granite and are surrounded by indigenous vegetation. They lie between 250 and 400 meters above sea level in the valley between the Stellenbosch and Helderberg mountain ranges and have a variety of aspects from North East to West facing.
Pair with red meat, pasta and pizza.
Product Description
Rainier Ridge Merlot is made from 90% Merlot & 10% Cabernet Franc
Washington State's hot growing season followed by a cool fall created a longer harvest that resulted in wines with ripe, rich flavors. Hot dry weather in August gave way to cooler temperatures and light rain in mid- September, slowing harvest and extending hang time. Warm, dry weather resumed in early October, giving us bright and concentrated fruit.
A dark ruby red color leads to aromas of smokiness with black plums, blackberries and a bit of orange. Flavors of toasted bread, smokiness and blackberries fill the palate rounded out by orange peel on the finish.
Winery: Rainier Ridge Winery
The Rainier Ridge Winery Estate
Rainier Ridge Winery honors two of Washington State's greatest assets, world class wine and the striking Mount Rainier ( 14,410 feet). Rainier Ridge wines embody the rich Washington terrain responsible for producing some of the world’s finest vinifera grapes. Sourced from Washington’s famed Columbia Valley and bursting with dark berry and tropical fruit, Rainier Ridge Chardonnay and Merlot deliver grandiose flavors at a modest price.
The Rainier Ridge Winery Vineyard
Washington State is the nation’s second largest producer of premium wines. Recently recognized by Wine Enthusiast magazine as “Wine Region of the Year”, the high-quality premium wines have earned the state international recognition, critical acclaim and legions of loyal consumers. It’s a winning combination that translates into success in the marketplace. Washington’s success with vinifera grapes is due in large measure to the state’s unique geography. The vineyards are planted on the east side of the Cascade Mountains which serve to protect the region from marine weather off the Pacific coast and limit rainfall to just 6-8 inches annually. Low rainfall and free-draining soils allow vineyard managers to control vine vigor in order to promote flavor development. Warm daytime temperatures ripen fruit to perfection, while cool autumn nights protect the grapes’ natural acidity.
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Segries Secret Grange Lirac Rouge is made from 50% Grenache and 50% Syrah.
This is a new wine for Chateau de Segries. 2013 is the first vintage.
The wine is dark and inky.
The aromas are intense and complex. It has fruit flavors of course, Strawberry and Blackberry, but it also have some interesting spice components, garrigue, pepper and licorice.
The finish is long and very pleasant as the tannins are round and well integrated.
La Grange is the name of the parcel where the grapes are grown. The soil is Clay and Limestone.
The average age of the vines is 80 years old.
Classic vinification in temperature controlled tanks. The skin contact maceration lasted 30 days and was completed in cement tanks.
The wine went through MaloLactic fermentation and was bottled without filtration.La Grange is the name of the parcel where the grapes are grown. The soil is Clay and Limestone.
The average age of the vines is 80 years old.
Classic vinification in temperature controlled tanks. The skin contact maceration lasted 30 days and was completed in cement tanks.
The wine went through MaloLactic fermentation and was bottled without filtration.
Review:
"The estate’s top wine is the 2016 Lirac Secret de la Grange, a 90-10 blend of Grenache and Syrah that never sees oak. This full-bodied blend is fabulously concentrated and lush, with ripe fruit flavors of raspberries and stone fruits, an intriguing hint of almond paste and a rich, long finish tinged with licorice. It should drink well for up to a decade. - Joe Czerwinski"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #233, October 2017), 93 pts
Rubus Proprietary Red is made from 90% Garnacha and 10% Syrah
Tasting Notes: This blend of red varietals combine to produce a flavorsome wine rich in blackberry and plum fruits. Aromas of subtle spices, berry and fruitcake.
The Grenaches represent 90% of the final blend. From all the Grenaches, more than 70% is represented by Garnacha Tinta, from 35 year old vines planted on very small plots using the goblet (bush vine) pruning technique, where you can see the typicities of it, the survival spirit of the vine and everything is very artisanal. The remaining Grenache is a blend of Garnacha Peluda (Lledoner Pelut), Garnacha Tintorera and some loose Garnacha Blanca vines.
The Syrah, representing 10% of the final blend, is mostly planted in trellis with irrigation, all mechanized, but where its quality is not diminished since this foreign variety requires another form of viticulture, it needs more water and other cultivation techniques, producing aromatic wines with a lot of color, contributing what the Grenache may lack.
Located in a mountainous area called SistemaI Ibérico, in an area with great geographical interest, undulating soils, and with a maximum altitude close to 1000 masl, characterized on stony, loose and nutrient-poor soils. Being heterogeneous soils in their entirety, but intended for this assembly, 80% of vineyards located at an altitude higher than 800 meters above sea level, planted in goblet (bush vine) with 60% of vines over 50 years old.
We can find these types of soils:
- Gravel, composed of pebbles and boulders, coming from alluvium, with good drainage giving intense, structured and fleshy wines.
- Red Slates, with low fertility and where they hardly retain rainwater, giving subtle, fine and elegant wines.
- Slates gray, darker in color, retain the heat of the day and expel it at night, resulting in high-grade grapes and low yields, with structured wines and mineral notes.
- Marl or marlstone, Composed of limestones and clays, deep soils, giving wines with body, warm, powerful and aromatic.
- In addition to areas with clay, sandy and limestone soils.
Vinification is carried out separately, using different strains of Saccharomyces yeasts, but also non-Saccharomyces strains for sugar consumption and that do not produce ethanol. We look for strains of yeast that provide primary aromas in the less old grenache, in the old we look for strains that provide polysaccharides from their cell walls and that produce glycerol. For the Syrah, vinifications are made at a lower temperature to favor primary and secondary aromas, but with successive delestages (racking) to obtain color; and once the alcoholic fermentation is finished, we make a first blending based on the correction of the acidity, so that later the malolactic fermentation takes place and once finished we decide on a final blend before the brief ageing in French oak of part of the blend, the part that we want to round by the contribution of tannin from the oak that will polymerize with the tannin of the grape.
Pairs with grilled meats, lamb, duck or barbecue pork
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