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2008 Napa Valley Merlot
June 27, 2011 by David
Filed under Blog, Merlot, Winemaker Notes
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Our Estate vineyard, with its well-drained, rocky soil, abundance of sunshine, and breezy afternoons, is the perfect place to grow Merlot grapes. Merlot produces a soft, fruity, and fairly rich wine, making it instantly popular and one of the most commonly planted wine grapes.
Winemaker Notes
Overall, the season was a cool one, allowing for plenty of hangtime, punctuated by a few blasts of heat to bring up the sugars. Rain was about two thirds of a normal year, but the vines reacted as if there was a drought, producing unusually small grapes. The small berry size explains the tremendous intensity of color and flavor in red wines from this vintage year.
Flavor profile: Ripe black cherry, raspberry, cocoa, mocha, cinnamon, all spice, toasty oak.
2008 Vintage: A roller-coaster of a growing season yielding low quantities of high quality fruit.
Drink now and through: 2014
Food Suggestions
Enjoy our Merlot with everything from roast duck and other game birds to prime rib. It pairs well with nuts and medium-hard to hard cheeses like Comté or Aged Gouda. From Colleen’s recipe collectionwe recommend Spring Lamb with Honey-Thyme Root Vegetables.
Pairing Wine and Chocolate
Scroll down for a 3-course, all-chocolate menu for Valentine’s Day!
In 1528, when Hernando Cortez first brought chocolate to Spain from the Aztec Empire, it was considered the ultimate gift to bestow upon a loved one. Its rarity and seductive powers made it an unequivocal declaration of passion and devotion. The Aztecs believed chocolate to have aphrodisiac qualities they called it the food of the Gods.
And, of course, wine has romantic qualities of its own. This time of year, it’s natural to want to combine them! Science tells us that chocolate has stimulants to energize and induce feelings of well being and wine sets the mood, relaxes us and lowers inhibitions. Science aside, it’s really about slowing down, relaxing and indulging your senses.
But, now, I need to be straight with you. Pairing chocolate with wine isn’t a slam dunk. I write this regretfully because, generally speaking, pairing wine and food is remarkably simple. The structure of most any wine makes it a natural with most foods.
But, sweet foods? That takes a little thought. Here’s a concept to etch in your memory: when pairing sweets with wine, the wine should be at least as sweet as the food. Why? Because otherwise, almost every time, a wine that was delicious moments ago becomes sour by comparison.
I qualified that statement because there are mitigating possibilities when it comes to chocolate since it’s really quite bitter before it’s sweetened.
Chocolate and dry wine: So if you want to pair chocolate with dry table wine, like a good Cab, Merlot or Zin your best bet it to go with dark, bitter and bittersweet chocolate with a high cacao content. Bitter nuts, like walnuts and hazelnuts help. So does espresso or coffee. And, berry fillings if they aren’t too sweet. And, in this day of chocolates with unorthodox fillings, I’ll recommend black pepper — maybe it’s out there, and its bitterness is a great bridge builder.
Chocolate and sweet wine: Now, this is MUCH easier! Because chocolate is a strong flavor, red dessert wines like late-harvest Zinfandel, Port and Banyuls wine are a good way to go but you won’t have any sourness problems with other choices like Sauternes, sweet Madeira (Malmsey) or Tokaji. Or, even a sweet Muscat, like our Muscat Canelli.
If the chocolates have caramel fillings, keep in mind caramel is very sweet, but it also presents a luscious opportunity: Vin Santo, tawny Port and Madeira have wonderfully caramelized flavors and will be yummy partners!
Nutty fillings are also great with nutty, sweet Sherry (Pedro Ximenez), tawny Port and Madeira.
White Chocolate: Now, you can stop worrying about red wine altogether! This is usually fairly sweet, so you want quite a sweet wine to go with it. The Muscat comes to mind immediately and so does Sauternes.
Advice: When it comes to sweets and wine, taste the pairing before you serve it to friends — especially when you’re trying to please that special someone!
To celebrate Valentine’s Day, Colleen, our proprietor and in-house chef has designed the following menu, including a little chocolate in each course for all of you romantic chocoholics. Cheers!
All chocolate menu for the romantic chocaholic
first course
Cocoa seared scallops
Serve with Goosecross Chenin Blanc
entree
Short ribs with coffee-cocoa sauce
Polenta (side-dish, recipe listed along with Short ribs)
Serve with Goosecross Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
dessert
Chocolate crazy cake
Serve with Goosecross Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
NVWR® 97 – Merlove
January 12, 2010 by David
Filed under Napa Valley Wine Radio
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
In this episode, producer Rudy McClane tells us about his documentary film about Merlot, called Merlove. He reminds us of all the reasons this classic variety has been treasured over the centuries.
Get yourself a glass of Goosecross Merlot and enjoy his enthusiastic tales of the many winegrowers he met and the wines he tasted. Cheers!
2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
September 25, 2009 by David
Filed under Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Winemaker Notes
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Lush fruit-forward flavors from our Yountville Estate. Rich with black cherry, raspberry, dark chocolate, and eucalyptus interwoven with toasty oak and spice.
Pairings: Grilled steak or lamb, slow-cooked dishes, aged cheeses.
2006 Napa Valley Merlot
September 25, 2009 by David
Filed under Merlot, Winemaker Notes
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Deep, luscious flavors of black cherry, cranberry, cocoa and vanilla with hints of nutmeg, white blossom and toasty oak.
Pairings: Grilled steak or lamb, roast duck, pork, and slow-cooked dishes.
Merlot
Our friend Merlot has taken a beating recently, because of the movie Sideways, but you might be surprised to know that it’s the most widely planted variety in Bordeaux. When we think of Bordeaux, most of us think of Cabernet Sauvignon, and it’s a major player, but Merlot trumps it in volume for a couple of reasons. One is its velvety deliciousness, and the other is more practical. It ripens early, relative to Cabernet, so it’s less likely to be damaged by rain, plus it tends to produce greater yields.
Merlot is a bit of an orphan. We’re reasonably certain that one of its parents is Cabernet Franc, which might begin to explain why Cabernet Sauvignon (parents are Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc), Cabernet Franc and Merlot are so compatible, but the other parent is an unknown. Merlot has a thin skin compared to Cabernet Sauvignon which is probably why it’s often a little lighter in color and easier to drink when it’s young. The greatest source of the astringent tannins in wine is the grape skins.
Along with black fruit, Merlot often shows a touch more red fruit and herb-like character than Cabernet. The vegetative character is accentuated when it grows in a cold climate and less noticeable in a warm region. As a partner to highly-structured Cabernet Sauvignon it’s a natural, with softer tannins and plump, accessible fruit.
Frost and poor fruit set can be a concern, especially in cold climates, because it buds and flowers earlier in the spring than Cabernet Sauvignon. It has to be watched at harvest time in warm climates because it tends to lose acidity if it hangs too long. Consequently, unlike its half-brother, it does well in cool, moisture holding soils.
Aside from making the most expensive wine in the Bordeaux region, Chateau Petrus, you can find well-made examples of Merlot from virtually anywhere in the world. It’s an adaptable variety that’s equally versatile at the table because of the gentle tannins. Merlot with lamb is a classic combination, especially when the lamb is roasted with the traditional garlic and rosemary, which bring out the hint of herbs in the wine. The rich Merlot fruit is also a wonderful partner for the sweetness of roast duck or pork. It’s delicious with slow-cooked dishes like Coq au Vin and a great partner for dry, aged cheeses like aged Asiago or aged Cheddar. You can find delicious recipes to pair with Merlot or any other variety if you go to Colleen’s Kitchen.
Flavor profile: Currant, black cherry, plum, violet, herbaceous, bell pepper, earthy
Weight: medium to full bodied
How We Make Our Estate Meritage
In 2002, we had to re-plant our home vineyard here at the winery because the Chardonnay we planted in 1978 was diseased. The phrase “crisis as opportunity” comes to mind.
After almost 25 years, we had a chance to take a fresh look at our property and re-evaluate what belongs here. It’s a process! We hired three different consultants to take soil samples and check the meso-climate1 throughout the site. Much to our comfort and delight, the three consultants came back with almost identical recommendations: Plant red Bordeaux varieties2.
What Is Meritage Wine?
With that decision made, Geoff Gorsuch, our Winemaker, immediately thought about making a Meritage wine. A Meritage (pronounced like “heritage”) is a blend of Bordeaux varieties and so the wines are usually Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot- based (there are white Meritage wines, too, but they’re less common). Since varietal wines had been the standard of excellence here in America, the Meritage Association was created to distinguish hand-crafted, high-quality blends from simple red or white table wines or generic, so-called “jug” wines. Geoff wanted the freedom to blend the varieties together in the way he most prefers, regardless of varietal percentage. He takes the best our property has to give, and blends it into a beautiful expression of our vineyard site to make a single- vineyard, estate grown, Meritage blend.
Planting The Vineyard
We hand-planted lots of Cabernet Sauvignon, some Merlot, and small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Our consultants helped us select the various clones3 and rootstock hybrids4 to match the variability of the soil throughout the 9.5 acres. The vine spacing also varies, depending on the anticipated vine vigor, or lack of it, in different parts of the property. Before planting we re-graded, installed drain-tile and brought down the acidity of the soil a bit.
The vineyard is on the valley floor between the old Rector Creek and the Napa River-Conn Creek junction. Small as it is, the vineyard has been divided into 11 different sections according to variety, clone, rootstock, spacing and other variables. These sections are monitored separately regarding water, nutrients, canopy management5, and of course, harvest date. It’s a lot for Geoff to juggle, but it’s the only way to get the kind of results we’re looking for.
From planting the rootstock or benchgrafts6, it is 3-4 years to the first small crop. We think of the vineyard as mature when it is 6 or 7 years old, and hope that it will be with us for decades.
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New Recipe: Coq au Vin!
Mmmm… with smoked applewood bacon, mushrooms, shallots, fresh herbs, lots of wine… Just thinking about the Coq au Vin makes me ravenous!
Yes, it’s comfort-food time as the days get shorter and shorter and the nights colder and colder. And, Colleen has come up with her own special take on a classic – the perfect hunker-down, satisfying dish to warm you from the inside. And it’s an incredible match for our newly released 2006 Cabernet Franc (sorry – only 575 cases, so it’s for Wine Club only). I’m going to go out on a limb, here, and suggest that it’s probably going to be pretty-darned tasty with the earthy flavors of our Syrah or Merlot, too!
In any case, any time you want something truly delectable and a recipe that’s been tested and re-tested go to Colleen’s Kitchen. Of course, they’re all paired with wine! Bon appetit!
2005 Napa Valley Merlot
August 27, 2008 by David
Filed under Merlot, Winemaker Notes
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Full, rich flavors with a silky texture, this wine is generous with black cherry, lush boysenberry, toasty oak and a hint of herbs. Pairings: Roast lamb, duck or pork, grilled steak, slow-cooked dishes.
Merlot
June 24, 2007 by David
Filed under Winemaker Notes
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
So fruity, so supple, so elegant when it’s at its best. Our poor friend Merlot has taken a beating recently because of the movie Sideways, but you might be surprised to know that it’s the most widely planted variety in Bordeaux. And Chateau Petrus, the most expensive wine of the Bordeaux region is, you guessed it, Merlot.
I know that when you think Bordeaux you think Cabernet, and it’s a major player, but Merlot trumps it in volume for a couple of reasons. One is its velvety deliciousness, and the other is more practical. It’s an early ripener, relative to Cabernet, so it’s less likely to be damaged by rain, plus it tends to produce greater yields. It’s kind of like hiring a reliable employee. You know it will be there for you!
Join Goosecross Director of Education, Nancy Hawks Miller, as she continues her series on the major wine varietals.
