Barnett Vineyards Merlot 2021, Spring Mountain District, CA

Fiona and Hal Barnett purchased a 40-acre property located atop Spring Mountain in 1983. The lot consisted of nothing but trees, rocks, shrubs, and dozens of rattlesnakes. After extensive work clearing, grading, and terracing the land, the first Cabernet Sauvignon vines were planted the following year. Since the very beginning, the intent was to produce small amounts of hand-crafted wines that would showcase the unique characteristics found in grapes cultivated on such challenging, high elevation terrain. 2021 Merlot – 100% Merlot. Aged 22 months in French oak barrels, 65% new and 35% a range of 2-4 year old. Winemaker: David Tate. Winemaker Notes: This Merlot comes from higher elevations on Spring Mountain. It is picked in the dark hours of the morning to ensure it arrives cool and undamaged. The Merlot spent 22 days on its skins to extract the soft tannins and flavor completely. Every year we look to see if a small percentage of any other varietal helps to fill in any gaps that the wine may have. This year the wine did not need any help and is one of the few years in our history where the wine is 100% Merlot. Tasting notes: The 2021 Spring Mountain Merlot has a beautiful dark purple core. There are beautiful pure aromatics from this 100% Merlot wine. Big black plum, dark roast coffee grounds, and black raspberry is matched with the caramel, clove, and vanilla from the oak. The wine has a beautiful viscosity, very rich and full. There is more cocoa nib, graphite and dark chocolate than fruit on the palate. The tannins are that perfect level of chalkiness to go with the richness of the wine.