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Steele Reds
STEELE MERLOT
LAKE COUNTY
While we are not known as a Bordeaux/Cabernet kind of
winery (we tend to make more Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and
Zinfandel) our location in Lake County allows us to produce
several of these varieties in styles which would make our
neighbors to the south a bit jealous. One of these is Merlot.
When we started buying grapes from the vineyard of Floyd
Silva we found that he was growing some of the best Merlot
that we had ever tasted. His vineyard is on a gravelly
bench, which overlooks the Big Valley area of Lake County.
The vines grow well but not too well and have a great balance
of flavors, structure and tannins.
Our typical winemaking style for red wines is a warm
fermentation followed by pressing and racking. The wine
then goes to Oak barrels and generally spends 18-20 months
in a combination of American and French oak barrels. While
most producers of Merlot tend toward the soft and supple
wine style, we have opted, because of the quality of the
grapes, to make a wine in a rich, generous style. This
wine is a mouthful of pleasure: lots of fruit, medium tannins
and a long lingering finish. We would recommend some cellar
time for this wine if only to allow all of the great aromas
and flavors properly meld. We feel that this wine can compete
with any Merlot from any growing region anywhere in the
world.
Because we make such a generous wine we recommend serving
it with very hearty foods. Beef Wellington, grilled steaks,
or a bowl of beef stew.
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