2015 "The Mad Scientist" Merlot

Vintage: 2015

Varietal: Merlot

Vineyard: 1-Acre, Kenwood

County: Sonoma County

Harvest: 23.3 Brix

Barrel Aging: Aged in 20% New Oak(Francois Freres) for 26 months

Alcohol: 14.5%

About:

This one-acre lot was harvested on September 23rd, kicking off the inaugural start of wander-must. Purovino was chosen to be the method of processing the grapes. After ripening, the grapes were transported in slotted macro bins to be cold chilled and treated with a proprietary cooling system. The grapes were then 100% destemmed and placed in a stainless tank with cooling jackets. The tank sat at 50 degrees for 9 days and was then placed on ambient. When reaching 60 degrees the tank was inoculated with a yeast strain isolated from the Rockpile AVA. Fermentation management included punch-downs and a rack and return. During the rack and return the fermenting juice was separated from the must for 6 hours. The must was then worked with a punch down tool while the juice fermented separately.

After primary fermentation the grapes were pressed, spending a total of 29 days in tank. The wine finished full malolactic fermentation and was racked after 26 months of aging. The wine was then filtered with a cross-flow and bottled in the fall of 2017.