Mount Tamalpais 2004 Merlot

Vineyard Notes:
Our Merlot comes from our fifteen year-old “monopole” vineyard in northwest Marin County which we farm incorporating many sustainable viticultural practices (hand tilling, ladybugs, 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 in 1990) 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.

Vintage Notes:
Winter and spring precipitation in Marin County was below average and led to yet another very small crop. An unusual warm spell in March got our vines rolling and summer was typically bright and dry with persistent early coastal morning fog and afternoon cooling winds. An extreme heat spell in September shriveled vines in the neighboring “cool climate” districts (Carneros at 105 F?) but had no effect on our west Marin vines and we saw beautifully compact bunches with exemplary balance and finesse. Vine health was excellent, but our small “set” meant crop management techniques were negligible. On October 19, we picked less than 3 tons per acre, far below the statewide average for Merlot of 8+ tons/acre.

Winemaking Notes:
Our Merlot bunches were hand-harvested (26.1 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 5 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 12 we gently pressed our still-fermenting must into small French (60%) & American (40%) oak barrels where it slowly completed primary and secondary fermentations. Our barrels are 50% percent new and crafted by Nadalié, Vicard and Seguin-Moreau (Napa) Cooperages. Fourteen months in barrel with moderate hand rackings and one egg white fining contributed exotic spiciness and wonderful mouth-feel. After culling two inferior barrels we bottled in January 2006.

Technical Notes:

Appellation:	Marin County
Blend:	100% Merlot
Brix:	26.1
pH:	3.57
TA:	.63 g/100mL
Alcohol:	13.9%