Merryvale Profile 1998

Profile is the pinnacle of Merryvale's distinguished Napa Valley red wine portfolio. Acclaimed winemaker Steve Test pulls out all the stops for this sumptuous wine, employing native yeast fermentation, extended time on the skins, 18 months or more in new, top of the line French oak chateau barrels from traditional Bordeaux coopers, and painstaking quarterly racking before bottling the wine unfiltered.

Test demands 'pedal to the metal intensity' when selecting each individual Bordeaux varietal lot for Profile. 'By intensity, I mean deep color and brooding, dark flavors such as roasted coffee - bold and powerful bass notes. The wine's balance comes from the silky, supple tannins derived from ripe grapes and careful finishing.' Chanting the mantra, 'rich, round, fat and supple,' he extracts the very best of each vintage for this crème de la crème.

1998 Profile is a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc with grapes from such superstar vineyards as Beckstoffer - Georges III, Poe, Showket, Slawson and Thorevilos. The wine was rated 96 points by Wine Enthusiast, the first American wine on its prestigious 'Best Wines of 2001' list, and garnered an impressive 92 point / '2 puff' rating in the Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine.