Novelty Hill Merlot

Description

Tasting Notes Deliciously expressive with pure dark cherries, mocha and wild blueberry aromas and flavors that linger across a lush, silky finish showcasing the wines balance and depth. – Mike Januik, WinemakerVintage The 2014 growing season gave winemakers yet another picture perfect vintage. The growing season started early. Spring conditions were moderate, free of frost and other weather worries. Summer temperatures were quite warm and stayed that way through harvest, but the Columbia Valleys signature cool autumn nights helped to extend hang time and protect the grapes natural acidity to yield wines with plenty of ripe fruit character and bright, fresh flavors.Vineyard The Columbia Valley is a diverse growing region that provides a wide range of fruit expressions to yield multilayered wines. For this Merlot, winemaker Mike Januik blended barrels from Novelty Hills estate vineyard Still water Creek on the Royal Slope of the Frenchman Hills, along with select lots north of the Tri-Cities to create a balanced, richly textured wine.WinemakingGentle pump overs during fermentation were used to submerge the skins and extract color and flavor from the grapesGravity-racked every five months to soften and clarify the wineAged 20 months in new and one-year-old barrels, 65% French oak. – Novelty Hill