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2012 Cuvée Sonoma County 73% Merlot, 9% , 9% 5% , 4%

We could have called this Merlot. However, that would miss the point. It’s all about the blend. Cuvée means wine blend in French. Good is like good cooking. What makes a reduction sauce so delicious is the combination of flavors, the layered sensations. This is the essence of Merlot Cuvée. Grapes sourced from seven of the that supply grapes to Deerfield went into this Cuvée. Our winemaking focuses on the individuality of each and the of the . The focus of Merlot is on the front of the palate, expanding forward like a bubble. The Cabernet Sauvignon tugs on the Merlot pulling it back to fill the mid-palate and produce a long finish. Malbec adds depth and blackberry essence to the bottom back of the palate. Cabernet Franc takes the flavors to the top, like dark chocolate, and Petit Verdot adds a bit of in the lower front of the palate. The blend, done by taste, married the separate into a harmonious, full flavored sensation. The program used 80% American . The front palate focus of American Oak, compared the mid-palate focus of French Oak, better fits the Merlot. Aging the wine in our cave for 40 months, an exceptional commitment, made the wine smooth and mellow. The 2012 was a very good one and a delight after 3 challenging . It was the first year of the California drought that lasted until the winter of 2017. We welcomed the dry fall after rainy harvests of the three previous years. The grapes ripened evenly and gave us exceptional flavors and strong , producing slow to mature, and long lived, similar to the 2003 and 2008 reds. Like all of the Deerfield wines, this Merlot Cuvée is a Clean Wine®. This means the wine is bottled with very low levels of sulfites, which can cause allergic reactions, and very low levels of histamine, which can cause headaches. Our motto is Clean Wine, Clear Head. Even if you aren’t sensitive to these things, you’ll enjoy the freedom from their affects. Tasting notes by Robert Rex, : As of this writing, in February 2017, the wine has been in the bottle for nine months and is now just beginning to show its true character. It is immediately enjoyable and noticeably more powerful than the 2010 or 11 wines. The fruit flavors are dark and rich without being too sweet. The tannins are well managed and the finish is long. It’s a Merlot a Cabernet lover can like.

Alc. 14.6%., R.S. 0.4g/L, SO2 at release 12 ppm. 100% barrel aged for 42 months. New French Oak 20%. New American Oak 80%. 20% new oak overall. 470 cases bottled May 26, 2016. Released February , 2017 For more info: Robert Rex, robert.rex@deerfieldranch.com www.deer eldranch.com www.cleanwine.info Taste the Passion