2008 Beau Terre Merlot 1.5L

The Beau Terre vineyard is a centerpiece for Doug Hill’s accumulated viticultural knowledge. From the row spacing to the trellising, the row direction and the clones selected, everything has been carefully thought out to give Merlot its best expression. This Merlot was given 4 days skin contact and fermented with D254 yeast, tasted dark and juicy at pressing, and then it was put into some nice oak barrels – we were off to a great start. The nose offers beautiful aroma of ripe plum and black raspberry, followed by notes of cola nut and cassis, with some spicy oak. The palate is big and powerful, but has a core of rich red cherry and boysenberry fruit, supported by softly textured tannin. This Merlot is definitely one of the “big boys!”