2005 Mount Tamalpais Vineyards Merlot, Marin County

Merlot is grown in several parts of the west coast but in the chilly, rugged hills of western Marin County it develops into a full-flavored yet deliciously balanced style. Our growing season is much cooler than Napa or Sonoma and in our rocky soils the Merlot vines thrive. Hand sorted while harvesting, once in our cellar we give it some air by "racking" and slowly mature it in small French oak barrels. Its style is boldly flavored and refined and, ultimately, a perfect choice with many hearty dishes. Twice voted "Top 100 Wines of the Year" by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Price: $28/bottle

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• Awards & Accolades - previous vintage•

2004 Vintage

Score: 8.5/9 "Medium to dark garnet in the glass, this wine has a dark nose of wet earth, plum, and oak. In the mouth it is extremely earthy, with smooth tannins that surround a core of subdued Bing cherry and sour plum fruit flavors. On the finish is the only time I get a bit of the green brambliness I would expect from Merlot grown in such a cold clime. Most people seem to be wrongfully shunning Merlot these days, but I would warn away anyone looking for a traditional fruity Merlot -- this wine is much more old-school Bordeaux-like in character, and will reward those looking for something more complicated than plums in a glass."
- www.vinography.com

"A Merlot unlike any in California, it eschews richness for sharpness and clarity. Etched notes of violets and plums; clean flavors and sweet tannins."
- Jordan MacKay, 7x7 Magazine, September 2006

• Vintage 2005•

The 2005 growing season was in some ways upside down because we had a heat wave (85°) in March and rain in June. In general, it had more spring precipitation and stronger winds than normal which led to a modest set. Vegetative growth was heavy so aggressive shoot & leaf thinning kept the vines open and in dappled sunlight. A cool August and warm Labor Day were well received but a heat spell in September shriveled vines in the neighboring "cool climate" districts (Carneros at 105 F?) but had no effect on our mature west Marin vines and we saw beautifully compact bunches with exemplary balance and finesse. We hand-harvested a modest (2.9 tons/acre) of tasty Merlot bunches on October 22. Consistent with prior vintages, excellent flavor developed beautifully at relatively low Brix levels, so final alcohol came in at a modest 13.5%.

• Vineyard •

Our Merlot comes from an eighteen year-old "monopole" vineyard in northwest Marin County which we farm organically (no petrochemicals, lots of hand tilling, hand weeding, cover crops and composting). The vineyard terrain is characterized by gently rolling hills and its soil profile is moderately fertile and composed of decomposed marine sedimentary material and Haire loam. Our Merlot vines (Clone 3 & Clone 6 planted on 5BB rootstock) are heavily influenced by the Pacific Oceans considerable climatic prowess which results in extremely small and concentrated berries. Surprisingly, bud break is earlier than neighboring regions, but as the season progresses, the cold weather pushes flowering, "set" and harvest to at least three weeks after Napa Valley, only twenty miles away. Our small Merlot berries have high "skin to juice" ratios, yielding a deeply-colored red wine with a broad aromatic spectrum and rich texture. Finally, our cool vineyard site gives us naturally high acidity, a hallmark of the great Merlots of Pomerol and Saint-Emilion.

• Winemaking •

Our Merlot bunches were hand-harvested (25.0 Brix), hand-sorted and 15% "whole berry" fruit contributed a nice bright cherry character. We "bled off" 10% of the free run juice to make our deliciously dry "Vin Gris" rosé – a technique which also adds richness to our Merlot. A "cold soak" of four days in small, open-top, temperature-controlled fermenters helped gently extract vibrant color and rich flavor – but not alcohol. On Day 4 we allowed fermentation to begin naturally with native yeasts and later inoculated with BM 45 cultured yeast. Moderately warm fermentation temperature (max 90° F) and daily pump-overs developed structure and supplied the fermenting wine with oxygen. A very modest acid adjustment brought the wine into superb balance. On Day 10 we gently pressed our still-fermenting must into small oak barrels (100% French, 30% new) where it slowly completed primary and secondary fermentations. Our barrels are from the famed French cooperages of Nadalié, Remond and Seguin-Moreau Cooperages. Thirteen months in barrel with moderate hand rackings and one egg white fining contributed exotic spiciness and wonderful mouth-feel. After culling one inferior barrel we bottled in January 2007.

• Wine Facts •

Regional Composition: Marin County – 100%
Varietal Composition: 100% Merlot
pH: 3.52
TA: 0.64 g/100mL
Alcohol: 13.5%
Total Production: 12 barrels (290 cases)

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