WESTERLY VINEYARDS
2001 RESERVE “LOT 18” MERLOT
Santa Ynez Valley
Tasting Notes
The 2001 Lot 18 merlot is the first and only reserve wine that we have produced at Westerly Vineyards, and is a “reserve” in the true sense of the word. One fermenter was pressed into a lot of eighteen French oak barrels, which repetitively showed more extraction and intensity of fruit than the others. The wine has intense aromas of black cherries and dried herbs, along with some oak spice and dusty earth. On the palate, the fruit is rich but not cloying, and is balanced by the smooth but ample tannins. While still in its youth, this wine can be enjoyed now, but will certainly reward those with the patience to cellar it.
Winemaking
After hand-harvesting, the grapes were lightly crushed and destemmed into small open-top fermenters. During fermentation, the must was punched down manually three times each day to ensure balanced extraction of flavor and color, and to round out the mouthfeel and tannin profile. At dryness the wine was pressed and settled, then racked to French oak barrels for aging. New oak was limited to 40 percent of the barrels to ensure retention of delicate fruit components.
Varietal Composition
Merlot 100%
Vineyard
Westerly Estate
Brix at Harvest
24.8
Aging Method
20 months
French oak barrels (40% new)
Final Analysis
pH 3.75
TA .57
Alc. 14.2%
Cases Produced
426
Suggested Retail
$32/bottle
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