Amour Merlot 2010
From a single Merlot vineyard on our home ranch this lovely Merlot is a perfect ruby color. The wine is a melding of noble character with fine elegance and great style.
An ideal pairing for chocolate desserts but is also excellent with soft meats such as pork chop, rack of lamb or filet mignon where the the meat is the primary desired flavor and the cooking process involves leaving fat on the meat.
A wonderfully expressive nose, full of raspberry and blackberry aromas with hints of bell pepper and blackcurrant, hinting at the complexity of great fruit. On the palate, the luscious, creamy blackberry-chocolate texture carries plenty of fruit, with liquorice extending the flavor profile, then nice textural tannin to add dimension in the mouth balanced with a soft non aggressive finish. There is no doubt why this estate grown, single-vineyard Merlot repeatedly wins gold medals.
The 2010 grape harvest was challenging with a wet spring followed by a late bud break and then a long, cool growing season that ended with a heat spike bringing the grapes to a quick maturity. As expected this gave us slightly lower sugars with higher acids and deep colors and flavors. The season caused us a lot more time in the vineyard trimming fruit or pulling leaves to assure full fruit maturity and lower than normal yields. We ended up with remarkable quality of fruit throughout our range of vineyards which led to a more restrained, elegant style of wine.
French Oak for 22 months, approximately 40% new, 40% one use and the balance neutral.
Cases produced = 315
| Color | Red |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2010 |
| Style | Red Bordeaux |
| Appellation | Dry Creek Valley |
| Varietal | Merlot |
| Date Bottled | 18th Mar 2013 |
| Drinkable | 2013 - 2017 |
| Alcohol | 14.50% |
| Bottle Size | 750ml |
