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Beaulieu Vineyard
2021 Beaulieu Vineyard Reserve Napa Valley Merlot
$75.00
Bottle
Price
$75.00
$900.00
Case
(12)
Price
$900.00
Member Pricing
Tasting Notes
The inviting ruby hue of the 2021 Reserve Merlot hints at the spice and sweetness of red fruit aromas to be found in the glass. A perfumed medley of summer raspberry, red currant, and wild blueberry enchants the nose. This aromatic prelude is followed by complementary flavors of dark cherry, cassis, and fresh fig on the palate. The distinct character of Rutherford dazzles with its refined tannins offering an elegantly even texture, balanced by a beautiful backbone of acidity. Drink now and enjoy with some decanting. This Merlot has the potential to age gracefully until 2035.Technical Information
| Varietal | Merlot |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2021 |
| Volume | 750mL |
| Appellation | Napa Valley |
| Blend | 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Oak Treatment | 20 months in French oak (75% new) |
| Alcohol % | 14.3% |
| Enclosure Type | Cork |
| pH | 3.58 |
Winemaking
The grapes for this Reserve Merlot benefited from our state-of-the-art optical sorter technology, which scrutinizes every berry to obtain the highest quality fruit. We fermented the must in stainless steel tanks until dry. Gentle pump-overs during fermentation extracted flavor, deep color, and tannins from the skins. We then pressed and transferred all the wines to small oak barrels coopered with French oak to develop and integrate flavors over the next 20 months.Vintage
The 2021 season was joyous and welcome after the challenges of prior vintages. Harvest yielded exceptionally fine fruit, some of the best in recent years. Early winter rains led to almost no notable precipitation for the rest of the growing season, providing ideal weather for grapes to flower, bloom, and set in early spring. Budbreak occurred early in April, followed by flowering and bloom in May. The summer saw early and even ripening throughout the valley, with verasion beginning in early July. Due in part to drought conditions, harvest yields were low, and grapes were intensely flavored and smaller in berry size. One of the earliest starts, harvest began with white wine grapes in late July and proceeded with red wine grapes about a month later, at the end of August. From these optimally ripe and flavorful grapes our winemakers crafted lush, fruity wines with amazing color extraction, aromatic intensity, balance, and structure. 2021 was a tremendous year to taste the nuances and terroir distinctions from around the valley.Vineyard
Grapes for this wine were sourced from our original Rutherford estate vineyard, BV Ranch No. 1, and from our long-time growing partner, Shifflett Vineyard, in cooler- climate Yountville. These selected blocks along the Rutherford Bench and western benchland of Napa Valley have well-draining soils that induce just enough stress to produce smaller berries, which results in a higher skin to juice ratio for winemaking.