We are very excited to share three new wines with our faithful Idlers. The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2009 Merlot, and the 2011 Sauvignon Blanc are now ready for drinking, merriment, and idling.
We had a great time making the 2009 Merlot and Cab at the same time with grapes from Los Chamizal Vineyard. In late October 2009, we received 3 tons of Cabernet Sauvignon, 1 ton of Merlot and 1.5 tons of Cabernet Franc to work and play with. We put each of the varietals through individual fermentations using Bordeaux yeasts over a couple of weeks. We then pressed the grapes separately into individual tanks. After a couple days letting the sediment settle out, we pumped the juices into French Barrels.
We ended up with 2 barrels of the Merlot and 7 barrels of the Cabernet. The barrels were topped every 3 weeks to keep them full of wine and prevent oxidation. In July 2010, the varietals were racked off the sediments, the barrels cleaned of tartrates, and the juices were returned to the barrels. In June 2011, the blends were created. In creating the 2009 Merlot, we blended 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon in a stainless steel tank. In creating the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, we blended 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Merlot in a nitrogen filled stainless steel tank. They were then bulldogged back to newly marked barrels. The wine was filtered and bottled the 2nd week of September 2011. We bottled 60 cases of 2009 Merlot and 225 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon. We’re really happy with the two wines. The Cab came out with a strong body and a nice blend of fruit and spice. The Merlot likewise was a success, coming out peppery, full-bodied, and a great match for Dark Chocolate and red meat.
The 2011 Sauvignon Blanc made us especially proud. We are very excited about our first attempt at this varietal. Made from Kick Ranch Vineyard grapes picked the morning of Sept 23, 2011, we used 0.9 tons of Musqué grapes and 0.75 tons of Sauvignon Blanc for a total of 1.65 tons. We cleaned the clusters of any big leaves or sticks and pressed the fruit for 2.5 hours before pumping the juice into a 45°F tank for 2 months. Pressing the juice into a cold tank lets the juice go through a slow fermentation, to extract more of the fruit. We added BA 11 yeast, which assists with a fresh fruit, even mouth feel. The juice was pumped into 4 neutral French barrels on November 2nd and was stirred once a week to give it a more gentle middle. The wine returned to a cold tank via bulldog on February 16th 2012. We added bentonite on Feb 27th to give the wine the heat/cold stability it needs in the future. One hundred and five cases of the wine were bottled on March 15th, 2011. The Blanc came out crisp and well-balanced with an incredible floral nose. We have been enjoying it all summer and now you can too!
Like all our Idle Cellars wines these three new wines were a labor of love. All three wines are available on our website, so grab a few bottles and let us know what you think!
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