2006 Merlot
Released August 31, 2008 Suggested California retail: $48.00
“Shafer Vineyards: The maker of one of our very favorite merlots.”
– Andrew Dornenberg and Karen Page, The Washington Post
To deliver a wine loaded with color, extract and concentration, Shafer vineyard crews pass through the vine rows a number of times as harvest approaches cutting away less-ripe and under-developed fruit. This allows the vitality of the vine to focus on the remaining top-quality fruit. With added hang time, sugars and flavors increase markedly.
While this wine is officially designated with the Napa Valley appellation, its fruit is sourced from within just a three mile radius in the Valley’s cooler southern end. Half of our fruit for our Merlot comes from a hilly Shafer-owned vineyard we’ve informally dubbed, “School Bus,” located about a quarter mile due south of Stags Leap District. The remainder is cultivated within Stags Leap District by growers we’ve worked with closely for years.
Merlot is a finicky grape – a bit too much rain, a touch of frost early in the season – will easily result in less than ideal fruit. Early on each season our vineyard team culls any weaker fruit leaving only the best-of-the-best on the vine, ensuring that the wine exhibits lush, ripe, mouthfilling flavors that are true to varietal character.
Winemaker’s Notes
“This release is marked by its perfumy aromas of dark fruit that push out of the glass. The wine itself fills the mouth with opulent flavors of red and black berry fruit, licorice, spice, pepper, strawberry and plum. It’s a wine that pairs so well with food, it makes me hungry just tasting it,” says Fernandez.
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Shafer Brochure Finding our Wines Robert M. Parker Jr.’s The Wine Advocate, December 2007 |
2006 Merlot – Reviews
“... exhibits fleshy, red and black currant, bay leaf ... Medium-bodied with sweet tannin, it should drink nicely for a decade.”
– Robert M. Parker, Jr., The Wine Advocate
“… spicy, dark cherry and blackberry fruit aroma with notes of black olive and charred oak; full body; herbal, blackberry fruit flavors with oaky overtones ... Highly recommended.”
– California Grapevine
“A wine with bold fruit flavors and a seamless texture. Aromas and flavors of cherry, currant and spice. Earthy with a hint of caramel on the finish. (Highly recommended)”
– The Press Democrat