2019 Freemark Abbey Merlot Napa Valley

Wine Profile:
Red ruby color, our merlot expresses red and blue fruits, composed of dried cherries, ripe strawberry, blue berry cobbler, fruit cake, red raspberry jam, and plum. A very pleasant complexity includes baking spice, leather, milk chocolate and arugula. The spicy oak is very well integrated. Entry and finish are very smooth, with fruit resembling cherry and plum nuances. This Merlot has a good overall balance of fruit, body, and tannin, with a long fruitful finish.   

Primary Vineyards:
Keyes—(48%) Located near the town of Angwin, at roughly 1,850 ft. elevation, this Howell Mountain vineyard sits adjacent to the Las Posadas State Forest, well above the marine layer, and with warm afternoon sun exposure. The summer days range from 55 to 90 degrees, with cool nights preserving the acidity. The mountainous soil is predominantly volcanic, shallow with low fertility, and producing merlot that expresses dark fruits like blackberry and dark currant, with a distinct minerality.

Stagecoach Vineyard—Atlas Peak (24%) These grapes were sorted from the Atlas Peak area of the Stagecoach Vineyard, located north east of Napa at approximately 1,500 ft. elevation. Composed of ancient volcanic soils, the vineyard is carved out of rocky terrain, sage brush and chaparral. The grape vines struggle in this environment, creating grapes that are small and very concentrated. The Merlot grapes ripen very evenly, yielding great dark cherry depth with an incredible distinctiveness that can only be derived from the terroir of Stagecoach.

JFW Oakville Vineyard—Oakville (16%) Predominantly a rich clay loam that supports healthy vineyards. The wines express flavors of dark cherry and rhubarb pie.

Calistoga Vineyard—(6%) The soil is a gravelly clay-silt loam, in a fairly warm region of northern Napa Valley. The wines are typically red fruit driven, like dark cherry.

Red Barn—Rutherford (6%) Located in the heart of the Rutherford Appellation, this vineyard is a mosaic of creek beds. The Napa River and Conn Creek have traversed through this vineyard in history past, leaving gravely loams and ancient creek beds. The fruit is soft, with cherry, plum, rhubarb and arugula.

Bosche Vineyard—(1%) Located west of Hwy. 29, on the famed Rutherford Bench, the Bosché vineyard has very deep gravelly soils. A seasonal creek crosses the vineyard which causes the water table to be high in the spring, providing water and nutrients for new shoot growth. As veraison approaches the water table drops, stressing the wines and intensifying the dark velvety fruit flavors. This is a natural area to grow Bordeaux varietals with dry farming or minimal drip irrigation.

Life span in a proper cellar:  15 years +