Turning Leaf Merlot Reserve

Winemaker's Notes:

Tasting Notes: Elegant. Inviting. A wine to awaken your senses. Expect the delicious flavors of plum, black cherry, and a hint of pepper, rounded out by a touch of oak. The result: a medium-bodied, deliciously smooth wine that's perfect for many occasions. Savor Turning Leaf Merlot with grilled pork and roasted beets, hearty French-onion soup and rustic country bread, or linguine with fresh tomato sauce. Turning Merlot grapes into vintage Merlot wine is as much about restraint as it is about craftsmanship. The idea is to trust the natural quality of the fruit, so the harvest can speak for itself. At Turning Leaf, the press juice is allowed to cold soak, a technique that concentrates the flavor palate prior to fermentation. The 2005 vintage exhibited a pronounced fruit-forward style that winemakers complemented with malolactic fermentation during the aging cycle. Additional fermentation lends big flavors smoothness, grace and clarity. This vintage was bottled beginning in June of 2006. The Spring’s cool and wet weather set the stage, enabling the vines to develop a good canopy. During hot summers, the leaf canopy helps protect the grapes from over exposure to high temperatures and direct sunlight-- characteristics of the 2005 Summer season. Fortunately, by harvest, the hot weather had subsided into mild temperatures taking some of the pressure off the grapes to hold back their flavor production. Winemakers reported a record crop, brimming with vine-ripened character and nuance.