Grgich Hills
2018 Merlot
, Napa Valley
Estate Grown

90 Points - Wine Enthusiast
90 Points, Gold Medal, EXCEPTIONAL - Tastings.com

This exquisite Merlot opens with earthy notes of coffee bean, plum, and black pepper.  Flavors of juicy black currant and black cherry explode on the palate.  An uplifting freshness is carried through the mid-palate with complex and dense tannins.  Well integrated oak that leaves a trace of baking spice.  There's plenty of fruit here, with a soft transition to a lush, lingering finish.  Leaves plenty of room for many years of aging with its silky tannin structure.  Highly recommended!

Pair it with grilled flank steak, lamb burgers or veal chops.

Vintage:  The 2018 vintage was bountiful, marked by cool, consistent temperatures and a timely rainfall for bud break in March and April. Harvest began on September tenth, and the grapes were of the highest quality with lower alcohol and high acidity.

Vineyard: This Merlot is grown both in cooler American Canyon and Carneros vineyards and in their warmer Yountville vineyard. They blended Merlot from all three vineyards to create a balanced, robust wine that combines the richness and depth from the warmer climates and perfume and bright fruitiness from the cooler climates. Committed to natural winegrowing and sustainability, farmed from five estate vineyards without artificial fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides and certified organic.

Alcohol: 14.4% by volume
Varietal:  88% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation: Napa Valley Estate
Harvest date:  October 8-22, 2018
Sugar:  24.4 Brix (average)
Fermentation:  Indigenous yeast
Skin Contact: 2 weeks in stainless steel
Total acid:  5.5g/L
pH:  3.62
Aging:  20 months
Type of oak:  French oak barrels;  37% new, 63% neutral
Bottling date:  July 2020
Release date:  April 2021

Tasting Notes  PDF

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