winemaker's notes:
ABOUT THE VINTAGE
In Columbia Valley, 2002 proved to be a challenging year for early ripening
varieties such as Chardonnay, although our Merlot was not as affected. Very
warm growing conditions in late August and early September caused sugars to
accumulate quickly in the fruit. At our estate vineyard we compensated for
these warm conditions by continuing to irrigate the vines right up to the time
of harvest.
ABOUT THE VINEYARD
Our estate vineyard's unique location at a broad expanse of the Columbia
River in eastern Washington allows it to grow superior grapes. The vast river
moderates the temperature, extending the grapes' hangtime on the vines during
the long summer, yet protecting the vines in the winter. The vineyards' location
on the northeast side of the ridge protects it from wind damage. It is one
of the largest estate-owned single vineyards in the state. Due to the improvements
in winegrowing over the last 10 to 15 years, we are now growing better
balanced grapevines. These vines are less vigorous and don't draw up late season
water like the vines did in the past. The end result is that we can spoon
feed the vines water to slow down the sugar accumulation, allowing fruit flavor
development to catch up, which is exactly what happened in 2002.
ABOUT THE WINE
We fermented the wine in small lots, which allowed us to treat each one as a
unique expression of the vineyard. By using a variety of fermentation practices,
yeast strains and barrel coopers, we created individual components that we
carefully pieced together for the final blend. We used a minimum of fining and
filtration and we aged the wine in 85 percent French oak barrels for 20
months.
The resulting wine has elegant, classic flavors of rich, velvety Canby raspberry,
Bing and black cherry and Belgian chocolate.
FOOD RECOMMENDATIONS
Canoe Ridge Merlot is a great partner to a variety of foods. We have found
the balanced acidity and rich fruit in our Merlot pairs best with fattier meats
such as duck with cherry confit or Pacific Northwest salmon prepared on the
grill and served with garlic mashed potatoes.
user reviews:
The top 3 most liked reviews for this wine.
A Customer - Lafayette, Louisiana
We have had this wine twice at a five star restaurant located in a popular casino. It was the best merlot we had ever tasted and have tried many times to locate it to purchase it. Unfortunately, we have been unsuccessful, as the local wine shops do not carry it.
We will be purchasing it through this website.
D.C.
A Customer - Orange County, CA
Very satisfying. A warm and toasted essence to this Merlot. Like it very much.
A Customer - Washington
I was at dinner when my friend ordered a bottle of the Canoe Ridge Merlot. This was full bodied and the best Merlot I have had. I was sure to note the Winery and plan on purchasing more.
