Our St. Helena Merlot vineyard (source) was ripped out on behalf of flood protection a few years ago. Yesterday, the last juice ever harvested from that soil ended a 6 month run at the Beverly Hills Hotel… some might say the vineyard went out in style!
Now, the sculpting of a flood plain being recreated “as if man hadn’t yet occupied this reach of the Napa River” has created a deficit of merlot for Andrew Lane. Our barrels are dry! So, we’ve sourced fruit from a dry farmed region of Suisun Valley for inclusion into our 2009 vintage Merlot blend.
We were fortunate to retrieve a healthy vineyard sample Saturday morning before the more serious rain hit. 23Brix. We will pick the Merlot just shy of 25Brix. The Indian Summer is moving our way and by the end of the week, the fruit will dehydrate slowly and ripening will begin to accelerate.
We are expecting a drop in acidity by the middle of next week and plan to harvest in 8 days. Stay tuned!
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