About this Wine
- Merryvale's Top Cuvee
- 97 pt Vintage, WA
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The Profile proprietary red blend showcases the very best fruit from each harvest, sourced exclusively from our gorgeous hillside estate vineyard located east of St. Helena. Overlooking the Napa Valley, the Profile Estate Vineyard lies on an eastern ridge at almost one thousand feet of elevation. Planted in 1997 by David Abreu, Michel Rolland and then winemaker Bob Levy, the 25-acre vineyard is comprised of four different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, along with two acres of Petit Verdot and one acre of Cabernet Franc. The steep slopes, rocky soils and volcanic ash bedrock make it a very challenging site to farm, yet this vineyard consistently delivers grapes that stand out for their plush fruit character, complexity and silky tannins.
For the 2014, the grapes were hand-harvested only at night then sorted in the field and at the winery. The fruit was cold soaked, allowing a long and gentle extraction to take place. Each lot was fermented separately in small tanks. Native fermentation began after the 7-day cold soak and reached a peak temperature of 90°F. The wines were pumped over a few times a day until dryness and then pressed and drained to barrels where malolactic fermentation occurred. The wine aged for 26 months in 100% new French oak barrels from Taransaud, Darnajou and Sylvain. The wine was bottled without fining or filtration.
TASTING NOTES
2015 was a very early harvest for our Profile Estate Vineyard due to the dry, hot vintage. The vines had little vigor and carried little fruit. Consequently, harvest was quick and the fruit was ripe at the same time throughout the vineyard. The heat around harvest also resulted in very good extractability of tannins and color which allowed for limited maceration time and only extract the best part of the skins. The finished wine is very dark in color and in flavor with hints of blackberries, dark cherries, cedar and dark chocolate. In the mouth, the velvet texture and fine grained tannins are remarkable. 2015 Profile is extremely long and concentrated and it should keep improving for another 10 to 20 years. Decant this wine in its youth.
Reviews
A blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc from the Profile Estate vineyard and aged 26 months in 80% new French oak, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Profile is deep garnet-purple in color and shows notes of baked plums, blackberry preserves and dried mulberries with touches of incense, iron ore, tobacco and new leather. The palate is medium to full-bodied and packed with loads of red and black fruit layers, framed by firm, grainy tannins and great freshness, finishing long and earthy. 1,800 cases produced. ~93WA
Extremely well-crafted with ultra-fine and creamy tannins that focus your attention on the clean and vivid fruit of blueberries, blackberries and sandalwood. Full-bodied, layered and fresh. Drinkable now but better in 2021. ~93JS
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