Sullivan Vineyards 2002 Merlot

Winemaking Notes:
The 2002 vintage in Rutherford was warm and sunny. A heat wave at the beginning of July stopped vegetative growth. The vines could then focus all their attention on the fruits. The weather cooled down in September allowing for slow flavor maturation resulting in complex flavors and beautiful tannins. This bottling is a blend of our three Merlot blocks. Each block produced a slightly different wine. Blending them together produced a more complex and more layered wine. The wine is packed with ripe fruit that explodes in your mouth. The finish is exceptionally long and intense. Pretty intense in it’s youth it will calm down with time achieving more smoothness and complexity.

Tasting Notes:
Color: Garnet with subtle highlights of indigo and violet

Nose: Red and black fruits jump out of the glass. Strawberry jam, cranberry, candied fruits, toffee, caramel, fern, and licorice.

Mouth: The entry is silky followed by a fat and round mid palate. A long and structured finish lasting more than 50 seconds exudes lots of fruit and spices like nutmeg, all spice and clove.

Technical Notes:

Appellation:	Rutherford, Napa Valley
Blend:	100% Merlot
Harvest:	October 3, 2002 and October 6, 2002
Details at Harvest:	Sugar: 24.8 Brix, TA: 0.65g/100mL, pH: 3.59
Maceration:	Recirculated over cap three times per day; extended maceration totaling 28 days
Aging:	16 months
Oak:	63% American Oak, 37% French Oak - 45% New Oak, 55% Second-vintage Oak
Alcohol:	14.6%
Bottled:	August 9, 2005