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Blackstone Napa Merlot(2003)
- Winery:
- Blackstone Winery
- Varietal:
- Merlot
- Region:
- USA > California > Napa
- Type:
- Red Wine
- User Tags:
- red grape, merlot, fruit, serve chilled, everyday, stone fruits, mild, cherry, (tree) fruit, spice
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8 0 - visualhokie
- April 2008
- I like this wine. It is one of the few merlots I like.
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June 2007
- Deep garnet in color with delightful aromas of ripe plums, fresh raspberries, summer berries and rose tea. The generous aromas are echoed in the palate, which is supple and well structured with great length of flavors. The signature style of Blackstone is an integrated Merlot with rich fruit; surrounded by elegant creaminess, supple oak flavors and firm tannins. Blackstone Merlot is friendly, flavorful and balanced, encouraging the marriage between food and wine. Alcohol: 13.0% by volume
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June 2007
- Our Blackstone 2002 Napa Valley Merlot issourced from distinct microclimates withinthe cooler southern half of the Napa Valley.Oak Knoll vineyard, located just south of Yountville on the southern end of the Napa Valley, once again provides the lion'sshare of fruit for this year's wine. It is a moderately cool location with well-draining soil; producing fruit with concentratedblackberry flavors. Just northeast of Oak Knoll, Blackstone chooses mountain-based vineyards high above the valley floor. Thiswell-draining, rocky terrain produces Merlot fruit with intense flavor read more...and structure; giving Blackstone Napa Valley Merlot itstannic backbone. Finally, Blackstone sources fruit from cool climate vineyards just south of Napa. Cool, low-yielding andlate-ripening vineyards give the wine bright fruit flavors, nice acid, spice and mineral notes. The combinations of thesedistinct growing regions integrate seamlessly into a wine with uncompromising quality and complexity. 2002 was a cool year, with heat spikes in late August and early September. The cool growing season produced excellent qualityand dark color. The Oak Knoll area is unquestionably one of the best places in Napa Valley to grow merlot grapes. Proximity tothe San Francisco Bay provides the warm days and fog shrouded mornings for slow and thorough ripening of the fruit. For the Napa Valley Merlot, winemaker Dennis Hill crushes and cold-soaks the grapes three days before a commercial yeastis added. This method permits flavor and color extraction to occur. The grapes are pressed just before fermentation,emphasizing forward fruit characteristics. The wine was aged in American (60%) and French (40%) oak (35% new, 65%one - two years) for up to 17 months in 60 gallon barrels. Egg white fining was used to manage tannins. The 2002 Napa Valley Merlot shows sexy aromas of dark berry fruit, cherry cobbler, rose petals, black pepper and spice. Thegenerous palate highlights big, mouth-filling black fruit and spicy flavors with a dominating chewy structure and a long finish. Thiswell-integrated wine is ready for immediate enjoyment. It can be enjoyed with a variety of grilled meats, poultry with rich sauces,or a decadent Beef Wellington. Delicious now, this vintage has considerable structure that will reward cellaring for up to 15 years. (hide)
- August 2007
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No written review
- Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wines
- Jul-06
- 85/100
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July 2007
