1240 Orchard Avenue • Napa, California 94558
(707) 224-2114 • (707) 224-8668 fax • tastingroom@muir-hanna.com

Download Tasting Notes
<-- Back to Wine Page

Tasting Notes • 2004 Merlot

This wine is only available thru our tasting room

Harvest Date:	September 4, 2004
Sugar Level:	24.5º Brix
Total Acidity:	0.60 g/100ml, pH 3.39
Vineyard Source:	Hanna Vineyards, John Muir Hanna Vyd, Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley
Fermentation:	4 days with 3x daily pump overs. Pressed at 5 º Brix.
Malo-lactic:	Three months in tank.
Barrel Aging:	19 months in French oak, 5% new. Two rack and returns.
Bottled:	July 19, 2006 . 250 cases produced.
Alcohol:	14.8% by volume.(pH 3.54, TA 0.61 gm/100ml)

Our first release of varietal merlot comes from Bill and Claudia’s vineyard, block M1.  It is clone 3 planted on 110R rootstock.  The spacing is 6X10.5 feet and the rows are oriented roughly E-W.  We harvested a very small amount of petit verdot (160#) and cab franc (350#) from the John Muir Hanna vineyard and added it to the fermentors on July 7.  The John Muir Hanna ranch is also planted on 110R rootstock with 6X10.5 ft spacing oriented E-W. Both are trained on a quadrilateral cordon system. 

The must was inoculated with D254 yeast on the day of harvest and the juice was pumped over three times daily.  It was pressed after four days when the sugar measured 5ºBrix.  Fermentation was nearly complete when a malo-lactic culture was added on September 17.  The wine was racked on Sep 29 and the malo-lactic conversion was complete by the end of November.  The wine was racked and barreled down on January 5-6, 2005.

The wine was aged for nineteen months in French oak barrels, 5% of which were new.  It was topped twice per month for the first six months and once a month for the remainder.  It was racked twice during aging.  The final racking, filtration and bottling occurred on July 18-19, 2006.   We bottled 250 cases.

Supple and smooth, our 2004 Merlot opens with dense, complex aromas followed by ripe cherry and plum flavors.  It is medium-bodied on the palate with a substantial finish which is nicely underlined with oak.  A gorgeously drinkable wine and a delightful partner for steak, ripe cheeses or more complex fare.