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2002

Merlot

Michael Black Vineyard,
Napa Valley

This full-bodied “cab-lover’s merlot” has lots of lavender and perfume on the nose, and a gorgeous, mouth-filling palate of black cherry, baker’s cocoa and smoky tobacco with a long finish of cedar and Christmas spice. Alcohol 14.8%

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93 points
Wine Advocate

89 points
International Wine Cellar

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Harvest Date September 27 & October 11

Growing Season Following veraison, conditions were ideal throughout a long growing season. Warm days and cool nights produced a balanced crop with lighter than average yields, allowing for maximum development of flavors, complexity and color in the grapes. Marked by massive tannins and balanced acidity, this vintage will likely produce some of the best wines of the decade.

Winemaking

• Hand-harvested grapes
• Fermented in closed-top stainless steel fermentors with indigenous yeasts
• 5-day cold soak, 23 days total maceration
• Spontaneous malolactic fermentation in barrels
• Aged 20 months in oak barrels (90% French, 10% American); 60% new
• Unblended, Unfined and unfiltered; bottled June 2004