Markham Napa Valley Vineyards.
Vintage 2017.
Blend of 87% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petite Sirah, 1% Malbec.
Fermented in stainless steel with 13 days of skin contact.
Aged 15.5 months in American Oak.
Pronounced nose of red cherry, red plum, mocha, mint, clove, and vanilla.
Medium bodied and dry with medium tannins and medium acidity.
Medium-Pronounced flavors of red cherry, ripe red plum, strawberry, boysenberry, cherry cola, chocolate, clove, and pepper.
Medium finish of caramel, toast, and spice.
14.6% ABV
This is a very good drinking Merlot from NAPA.
From the Markham Vineyard website.
Harvest Notes.
- 2017 brought floods, chill, heat and wildfire.
- Budbreak and bloom were on time after a late January chill.
- Summer heat dried the soils quickly.
- Our 40th vintage saw perfect harvest weather and incredible quality.
- Most fruit was safely cellared when the Oct. ’17 wildfires brought Napa to a standstill.
Vineyard Notes.
- A true Napa Valley blend:
Little Cannon, Oak Knoll — sour cherry
Hopper House & Yountville — classic Bing cherry
Up-Valley — jammy notes - Canopies were closely managed to allow Merlot to hang freely in filtered sunlight.
- Fruit matured and colored evenly, free of vegetal tones.
- 90% of this blend is NAPA GREEN certified.
“It’s hard to imagine anything with which this wine wouldn’t pair well…but slow-braised short ribs on a bed of buttery mash must be top of the ‘most decadent’ list.” – Kimberlee Nicholls, Winemaker
Bottled May 2019
Released Spring 2020
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