Columbia Winery 2017 SV Weinbau Merlot

With roots dating back to 1962, Columbia Winery has been discovering and celebrating Washington wine for over 55 years. Columbia’s forward-thinking philosophy continues today in the hands of a talented and innovative winemaking team led by Winemaker, Sean Hails. We believe the sum of Washington is greater than its parts, inspiring winemaking and blending philosophies rooted in discovery, sourcing our fruit from across a range of Washington’s outstanding AVAs. With each season, we select premier vineyard sites, refine our oak regimen and cellar techniques to impart nuance, texture, and complexity in our wines.

About the Wine: This bold, fruit-forward Merlot is our expression of the famous Weinbau Vineyard on the Wahluke Slope. Decadent aromas of toasted oak greet notes of dark fruit and bramble blended with hints of mocha and tobacco on the palate. Mouth-filling tannins lead to a lingering, smooth finish. This wine pairs well with your favorite Italian dish.

About Washington’s Weinbau Vineyard Established in 1981, Weinbau Vineyard is one of Washington’s legendary vineyards on the Wahluke Slope. Experiencing the driest, warmest average climate in Washington, Weinbau Vineyard enjoys a south-facing exposure and a distant view of the Rattlesnake Mountains. Natural conditions allow nearly complete control over vine growth, producing fruit of outstanding quality each growing season.

Viticulture Notes: Vintage 2017 experienced colder, wetter weather than usual, a slow bud break and eventually sunny, mild conditions until harvest. For this wine, we selected grapes from Weinbau Vineyard Merlot Block 54, which thrives in mostly silt loan soil located at an elevation of 850 feet, and Cabernet Block 4, which is situated lower down the vineyard and is one of the oldest blocks. We harvested the Block 54 Merlot on October 3, 2017, and Block 4 Cabernet on October 13, 2017.

Winemaking Notes: Grapes were destemmed and transferred to tanks. Fermentation occurred at a minimum of 88°F in small-lot, stainless steel tanks, some with open tops. During fermentation, a combination of punch-downs and pump-overs were used for intense extraction of color and flavor. Malolactic fermentation was completed to create a round mouthfeel and soften the wine. The wine was barrel-aged in 225-liter and 265- liter barrels for 18 months in a combination of 88% French and 12% American oak barrels, 64% of which were new.

Varietal Content: 91% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon Appellation: Wahluke Slope AVA Vineyard Weinbau Vineyards Alcohol Content: 15% Titratable Acidity: 5.2g/L pH: 3.76 Bottling Date Aug 8, 2019 Cases Produced 684