Winemaker Notes
The 2007 Merlot crop from the London ranch was harvested in mid September. The vintage began with a dry spring followed by a temperate summer that finished with a warm spell over Labor Day to get the fruit ready for harvest. The grapes were crushed and then fermented in stainless steel before aging in French and American oak barrels for 20 months. After aging the wine was pumped out of barrels and blended with a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon for complexity and balance.
The rich fruit flavors found in this Merlot complement a wide range of dishes, including braised beef, rich stews and pastas.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Tightly wound, with big edgy tannins that accentuate the acidity. Underneath you'll find dry elegant flavors of tart cherries, red currants and violets. A polished, pretty wine that could pick up some nuances over the next 2-3 years.
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.
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.