Wolffer 2002 La Ferme Martin Merlot

Wölffer Estate’s La Ferme Martin Merlot was named for owner Christian Wölffer’s father, Martin. The colorful label made its debut in 1993, but was dropped in 1996 when the winery redesigned all of its labels. But Wölffer’s customers missed their polo-playing pal and clamored for the return of “Martin”. Neck labels were printed showing Martin saying, “Ill be back” (with a German accent, of course) and he was soon restored.

Winemaker Tasting Notes:
Dark Red Brick in color. This wine has a vibrant nose showing ripe red cherry fruit and fine toasty oak with hints of vanilla. On the palate, the medium-bodied mouthfeel is classic and elegant with lots of red currants and prune fruit and velvety, well-rounded tannins. The wine has a long, lush finish that pairs wonderful warmth with liquorish and elegant mark (skin) characters.

Food Pairing:
Serve at room temperature. This wine is an excellent match for a heavier chicken or veal dish, pizza, burgers, a piece of Brie, and of course great with red meat.

Technical Notes:
95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc.
The grapes were hand picked between October 29th and November 2nd. They were cold macerated for 4 days at 50° Fahrenheit prior to fermentation. All was tank fermented (not very hot) up to a peek temperature of 78° Fahrenheit and the pump over method was applied 3 times a day every 8 hours to extract color. The overall maceration (Skin contact) was between 12 to 15 days providing structure and mouth-feel. 15% of the wine was aged in Stainless steel tanks and 85 % was aged for 12 months in French barrels (10% new oak). In the first two month MLF was 100% completed. The wine was racked four times and carefully blended. It was bottled unfiltered and unfined.