Substance Vineyard Collection Northridge Merlot 2017
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Tremendous focus. Black cassis, molasses and sweet fruit undertone. Cocoa, anise, coriander layered for good measure. Give this wine a little time for a delicious reward.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from a site on the Wahluke Slope, the 2017 Merlot Northridge Vineyard is also medium to full-bodied and concentrated yet has a touch more oomph and density than the Stoneridge release. Redcurrants, tobacco, cigar, and toasted spice notes all emerge from this medium to full-bodied, richly textured, balanced Merlot. It too will keep for at least 5-7 years.
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James Suckling
Plenty of floral and spice notes with walnut husk and coffee. Medium-to full-bodied, layered and beautiful. Real merlot. Hints of fresh herbs at the end, as well as green olives.
Other Vintages
2016-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
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Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck
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Robert
Parker
The original thought was to be a one wine brand, with a single minded vision to produce the best value-priced Cabernet Sauvignon in America. How do you go about this? Traditional winemaking. Natural fermentations. Barrel-aging. Plus, bottling unfiltered and unfined. In essence, making the wines in small batch winemaking integrity, but doing so on a larger scale. The wine is black. The label definitively says, "This is Cabernet Sauvignon." With the CS, you know who made this wine: Charles Smith. There is also the single vineyard, single expression, Bordeaux varietals (ex: Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot) produced in very limited quantities. Let's not to forget, the single vineyard Loire-style Substance Sauvignon Blanc. Wines of Substance illustrates Charles’ philosophy of producing exceptional wines to be enjoyed by everyone around the globe.
With generous fruit and supple tannins, Merlot is made in a range of styles from everyday-drinking to world-renowned and age-worthy. Merlot is the dominant variety in the wines from Bordeaux’s Right Bank regions of St. Emilion and Pomerol, where it is often blended with Cabernet Franc to spectacular result. Merlot also frequently shines on its own, particularly in California’s Napa Valley. Somm Secret—As much as Miles derided the variety in the 2004 film, Sideways, his prized 1961 Château Cheval Blanc is actually a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
Distinguished by a broad, south-exposed, uniform slope and landlocked by the Columbia River to its south and Saddle Mountains to its north, the Wahluke Slope AVA of Washington holds 15% of the total vine acreage of the state and takes its name from the Native American word for “watering place.”
Incidentally the Wahluke Slope AVA has one of the hottest and driest climates of the state so irrigation is not only essential, but also allows complete grower control of vine vigor. On top of its arid and warm environment, strong summer winds blow across this broad slope and ensure both smaller leaf size and grape clusters. The result is top quality wines with great concentration, phenolic ripeness, body and depth of flavor.
Vineyards cover the AVA from 425 to 1,480 feet along the slope. Its deep soils of wind-blown alluvium and sand with a depth, on average, of more than 5 feet along the continuous grade allow optimal drainage for the vines.
Thriving varieties include Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc.
Merlots are rich in sweet, ripe cherry, red currant, raspberry and cocoa. Syrahs tend to express black and blue fruit along with savory notes. Wahluke Cabernets are rich in stewed red and black berries.