2017 Merlot 750

RATINGS
Antonio Galloni, Vinous (Jan. 2020) - 93 pts
"Seavey's 2017 Merlot is loaded with all of the savory character that makes this wine so distinctive. Cedar, tobacco, mint, licorice, dried flowers and dried red cherry fruit are some of the many notes that develop in this beguiling, mid-weight Merlot from Seavey. All the elements just fall into place. This is such a delicious and alluring wine.”
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate (Oct. 2019) – 90 pts
"Aged 20 months in 38% new oak, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Merlot rolls effortlessly out of the glass with notions of baked red and black plums, mulberries and boysenberries with nuances of dried herbs, underbrush, vanilla pod and star anise. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers loads of juicy black fruits with a refreshing line and soft, rounded tannins, finishing with lovely purity.”
VINEYARD NOTES
Seavey’s 24th vintage of single-vineyard estate Merlot comes entirely from grapes grown on the steep hillside blocks of our estate which we have now been farming for 40 years. The 2017 year began with dramatic rains that flooded the valley. Replenished after the extended drought, our vines grew with vigor through a mild spring that encouraged good fruit set. Our Merlot grapes were harvested in mid-September, prior to the memorable October wildfires.
PRODUCTION NOTES
Seavey separately harvests, vinifies, and ages each vineyard block of our grapes. Our winemaking follows classic Bordeaux methods with whole-berry fermentation. In the cool of the early morning harvest, grapes from our 2017 harvest were promptly de-stemmed and the uncrushed berries were gently transferred into fermentation tanks. In order to carefully manage the tannins and resulting wine texture, the grapes were neither crushed nor run through a pump. Following whole-berry fermentation, the wine was aged in French oak barrels (38% new) for 20 months before bottling in June 2019.
100% ESTATE GROWN, PRODUCED & BOTTLED, NAPA VALLEY AVA