Cakebread Merlot

Deep ruby in color, the Merlot opens with a medley of ripe fruit flavors including plum, blackberry, and black cherry. A symphony of additional notes emerge including violet, crushed stone, and vanilla. Across the palate, the wine is velvety and fullbodied with concentrated and rich flavors of blackberry and plum. Bright acidity supports the wine, showcasingnotes of minerality, herbs, and florals. Fine, persistent tannins drive the long black cherry finish of this deeply flavorful and elegant wine.

VINEYARDS& VINTAGE

This Merlot comes from our estate vineyards throughout Napa Valley, including our SuscolSprings Ranch in the cooler southeastern reaches. Grapevines at our Suscol Springs Ranch have tostruggle through rocky soils—a beneficial stress that yields smaller berries of great concentration and supple tannins. We also include grapes from our warm, nutrient rich valley floor vineyard in Rutherford. The diversity of these Merlot vineyard sites enables us to craft a wine that highlights the best of the varietal; deep fruit flavors, silky mouthfeel, bright acidity, and refined elegant tannins. 

WINEMAKING

Each of our Merlot vineyards were harvested separately when the grapes reached perfect ripeness and hand-harvested overnight to maintain freshness and the pure varietal character of Merlot. Once at the winery, the grapes underwent a cold soak to extract maximum color and flavor from the grapes. After fermentation, the wine was aged in 44%