For us at Cakebread Cellars in Napa Valley, the 1999 growing
season was comparatively a cool one. With such cool temperatures come
later harvest times, while the grapes retain much of their natural acidities.
This pattern held true despite a spate of very hot weather at the end
of September. Despite elevated grape sugar levels, we waited until the
sugars actually came back down and the overall flavors of the grapes
were in balance.
Typically at Cakebread Cellars, we describe red wines
as either having a red fruit character or a black one; that is, either
hints of raspberries, red cherries and plums or of dark chocolates,
black cherries and plums. Our red winemaking aim at Cakebread Cellars
is to achieve a nice balance between the two. Generally, the Merlot
fruit we grow and purchase from the Oak Knoll-Rutherford area of Napa
Valley, as well as that of the Carneros Napa Valley appellation lend
themselves to our achieving just that kind of balance between red and
black characters of fruit, respectively.
This 1999 Napa Valley wine marks our ninth vintage of
making Merlot. In making our Merlot, we employed several traditional
as well as innovative winemaking techniques. For example, before fermentation
got underway, we allowed the merlot juice and skins to "soak"
at cool temperatures. This practice helps intensify both the color and
flavors of the resulting wine. In addition to "cold-soaking"
the Merlot must, we also periodically drained the fermenting must from
the stainless steel fermenters and then returned it. This "rack
and return" process helps to smooth out the tannins.
Cakebread Cellars' 1999 Napa Valley Merlot displays a
very black to purple color; has rich aromas, redolent with fruit; and
flavors of blackberries, with subtle hints of black pepper. There are
also aromas that hint of black tea leaves and a dried herb, possibly
nutmeg. In the background, there is a delicate scent of cedar and vanilla.
On the palate, there are fresh plum, black pepper as well as a drop
of cassis and cherry-like flavors, which end with just a touch of French
oak. As with all our wines, this Merlot is ready for dinner tonight,
but it will continue to develop complexity over the next 3-5 years.
