One of my favorite past times as a winemaker is choosing wine from the cellar. Twice a month, I’ll pick out a bottle of Idle Cellars from the library and see how it’s drinking. This week I decided on a Merlot from our third vintage in 2008. We sourced the grapes from the late Peter Haywood’s Los Chamizal Vineyard, right on the outskirts of the town of Sonoma. The maritime winds from the Pacific keep the vineyard cool. The Merlot block is right under the mountain and benefits from evening shade. Peter planted Los Chamizal in the 70’s and meticulously cared for it his entire life. The Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon all taste incredible. We’ve made wines with Los Chamizal grapes since the beginning of Idle and consider Peter Haywood one of our first vineyard mentors. Walking through the vineyard with Peter, he could tell stories of every vine. He taught us to visit and make contact with the vines at least 11 times a year to truly know how they are.
It’s always a little nerve racking opening an older bottle of wine, but the moment I popped the ‘08 Merlot I knew it was going to be a good bottle. The fruit flavors maintained well, and the wine was very balanced. It was light after 15 years of aging in the bottle but managed to explode with flavor when it hit the top of my mouth. A tart raspberry element filled my senses. There were no bitter qualities to the wine, just balanced fruit and light acidity holding the wine together.
A Vintage Marked by Challenge, Crafted with Patience
2008 was a difficult weather year that created a more structured wine. An unusual Spring frost in April damaged many of the vines during bud break. A heatwave in August and a September rain stressed the fruit. This resulted in a reduced yield of smaller clusters and intense berries. We harvested the grapes on Oct 27th. Having the Merlot hang on the vine longer showed a higher fruit concentration, deeper complexity, and more balanced acidity. The grapes were cold soaked for 4 days to extract natural colors & flavors. We fermented the grapes for two weeks and did punchdowns twice a day to extract optimal tannins from the skins. It rested for 22 months in French barrels using 30% new Bel Air barrels, one of our favorite coopers for mountain fruit. This vintage is 100% Merlot, 100% Los Chamizal. If you’re interested in trying this wine, we have a few bottles left for purchase. Contact us directly and get the limited opportunity to taste this beautifully aged Merlot.
Ari Heavner
Winemaker