JAQK Cellars Bone Dance Merlot 2006
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This merlot has aromas of cherry, red current, raspberry, cocoa powder, cinnamon stick, sandalwood, and black olive.
The palate is round, soft but vibrant, with good complexity, firm yet pliable tannins, and good bones with plenty of flesh.
When you follow your passion, you pour yourself into it wholeheartedly. Work ceases being work. It becomes something you enjoy, something that feels more like, well, play.
For Craig, there’s nothing he’d rather be doing than walking through vineyards, crumbling clumps of soil in his hands, smelling the air, understanding a particular harvest, and coaxing from it a nectar that’s wonderfully delicious. Katie and Joel share with Craig a passion for wine, but their first love is the world of graphic design. They were drawn to it at an early age and have immersed themselves in it ever since. At their firm, Hatch Design, they craft brand identities, packaging, and communications that not only further their clients’ goals, but make the world a little more beautiful a place for all of us.
And so JAQK Cellars was born. Not so much a business as a blank canvas. Not so much an enterprise for three colleagues as a way for three creative souls to indulge their passions. A way for them to slave away doing what they love till their hearts’ content.
Today the fourth most widely planted red variety in the state, Merlot has much to offer. While it bears similarities to Cabernet Sauvignon (its half-sibling), it tends to be lower in both acidity and tannins, giving Merlot wines a mouthfeel that is often perceived as soft, round and plush. These qualities make it an ideal blending partner for Cabernet, the two complementing each other throughout.
Merlot arrived relatively late to the California wine scene. It wasn’t until the 1970’s when producers like Louis Martini, Sterling and Matanzas Creek—influenced by European Merlot blends—began crafting single varietal versions. These trend-setting bottles opened the eyes of others in the California wine scene and spurred increased plantings. From there, the variety’s lush drinkability led to a surge in popularity, then overplanting (some of it on unsuitable sites) and finally a backlash that was turbo-charged by the infamous 2004 film, Sideways. What most viewers didn't realize was that, as much as Miles derided the variety, the prized wine of his collection—a 1961 Château Cheval Blanc—is made from a blend of Merlot with Cabernet Franc.
Fine examples of California Merlot—either as a single varietal wine or as part of a blend—can be found from Napa Valley, Sonoma County, the Central Coast and most regions around the state. Merlot wines offer a ripe, sensual mouthful of plummy fruit, suggestions of mint, herbs and vanilla, all carried along by an approachable structure and often, a great potential for improving with age.