2018 Kimberly Merlot

The 2018 vintage was another nearly another perfect growing season except for some cooler weather during bloom which caused some flowers to improperly pollinate resulting in a few “shot” berries within the clusters which remain green right up to harvest. Other than a few shot berries the long hang-time in 2018 allowed the vines to linger in the photosynthetic “sweet spot.” This accelerated the various benchmarks associated with vine physiology such as bloom, fruit set and veraison. After a five-day cold soak, the juice was fermented in small, half-ton bins with little intervention other than twice daily pumpovers and the occasional punch down. Once in barrel the wine was not racked until just prior to bottling. We did not inoculate the must for primary or secondary fermentation. Definitely minimalistic winemaking.