Ramsay
Merlot 2009
Napa Valley
Grape
Source
Harvest September 19, 2009 @ 24.3 brix
Chemistry at Bottling -pH: 3.53 -Total Acidity: 5.05 grams/liter -Alcohol: 13.9% -Free Sulfur Dioxide: 30 parts per million -Total Sulfur Dioxide: 69 parts per million
Sensory Notes:
In 2009, I went looking for a new Merlot vineyard in the hopes of finding more refined structure and fruit. In the end, I made several wines, each from a different vineyard. We've all heard Aristotle's adage, "The whole is greater than the sum-of-the-parts," and this is true when it comes to blending. I had planned to blend the best of these lots together, but in the end I think I found a perfect vineyard. The grapes from the DeLouise Vineyard just north of the City of Napa are exactly what I want in Merlot; great fruit, structure and complexity and a minimal amount of veggie characteristics. The wine from these grapes was far better than any blend I could come up with from the other experiments. (So much for Aristotle!) What makes it even better is that the grower is a nice person to work with and he has quite a lot of this fruit! As is typical of our Ramsay Merlots over the last decade, the 2009 is a rich wine, with lots of nice ripe fruit, but it is not a huge tannic monster. I like big, juicy, friendly wines and this one is absolutely succulent.