Champagne Wishes: 2009 Ehlers Estate Merlot Highly Recommended by Whom You Know!!!
Lush. Rich. Velvety. These are the adjectives that spring to mind when I think of the Ehlers Estate 2009 Merlot. Of course, that's no surprise, given the winery behind the wine! I've had the pleasure of sampling several other offerings from Ehlers Estate before, and have been consistently impressed by the superior quality bottles they produce. Located in Napa Valley's St. Helen appellation, wine grapes have been grown on this property since the mid-1800s. In 1985, the vineyards received new life, thanks to the efforts of Jean Leducq, and in 2001, Ehlers Estate 2000 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon. The next year, they produced their first Merlot, and it's been onward and upward ever since. In 2005, they began practicing biodynamic farming, and they were received organic certification in 2008, and beginning with the 2005 red wine vintage and 2007 white wine vintage, every single one of their wines has been produced with 100% organic, estate-grown grapes. Their dedication to quality is second to none, and their passion for social responsibility is remarkable. With all this in mind, I had very high expectations when I sat down to taste the 2009 Merlot...and those expectations were not only met, but exceeded! From the moment I uncorked it, poured it into my glass, and let the aroma fill my senses, I was in love! From the get-go, it was bold and unapologetic, with ripe raspberry, blackcurrant, and chocolate on the nose. On the palate, it was soft, dreamy, and creamy, with the fruit flavors being balanced out by a hint of herb and spice. The supple tannins provided a typically long and rewarding Merlot finish, which, in this case was extra-smooth. It is a well-structured and well-balanced wine, with a firm acidity, and should continue to drink well for years to come. Definitely a most welcome addition to any oenophile's wine-rack (this panelist's included)!
I know once the weather starts getting warmer, I should be drinking white wine. Unfortunately, I love red wine! I especially enjoy a nice glass of Merlot. So even though everyone else is drinking white, I still have to have some Merlot now and then. This makes it imperative that I find the perfect Merlot. Now, I think I have found it! Ehlers Estate 2009 Merlot is 100% estate grown and 100% organic, so I had a feeling I would like it even before I opened the bottle. Once I did open the bottle, it exceeded all expectations! The complex, bold flavor is made up of raspberries and cherries as well as chocolate and spices. This wine is so full of flavor it is easily enjoyed all on its own. It would pair quite well, however, with a juicy steak, or even a hamburger fresh off the grill. If you love Merlot like me, don't let the summer stop you from having some now and then. Once you have a glass of Ehlers Estate, you will have trouble choosing anything else. Pick up a bottle as soon as you can!
Mmmmm....Merlot. There is nothing quite like a warm, full, chocolatey Merlot. And there is really nothing like a warm, full, chocolatey Merlot from Ehlers Estate. If you have never tried Ehlers Estate before, prepare yourself for greatness. From the simple, elegant bottle to the popping of the cork right down to the last, luscious sip, you will be transported.
A final blend of 93% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon results in 100% divine wine! 100% estate grown, 100% organic and biodynamic, Ehlers Estate Merlot is something to be savored. This full, rich, creamy Merlot is by far the best Merlot I have ever had the pleasure of sipping. With notes of chocolate, raspberry, black currants and licorice joined by hints of sage, thyme and kiwi, what's not to love? Ehlers Estate wines are unique, flavorful, satisfying and extraordinary. 100% of the profits from the sale of Ehlers Estate wines go to the non-profit Jean Leducq Foundation. Jean Leducq revived the 1886 estate of Bernard Ehlers, combined with property he had acquired and found himself with 43 acres of Napa Valley Vineyards. Ehlers Estate Merlot is a must try for any wine lover. I highly recommend any wine the Ehlers Estate produces, you just can't go wrong!
From Ehlers Estate, the 2009 Merlot is a definitive wine. It states the purpose and mindset of the Estate, and coaxes a multi-layered flavor balance from a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. The weather in this part of Napa Valley was dry in 2009, and perfect for the grapes. The wines from that vintage came out of the barrels with a brilliant color and those silky tannins that the Estate is known for. Let it breathe, and revel in it's nose. This merlot is not too dry, with a full body. Not surprising, since Mr. Leducq, the gentleman who bought the estate in the 1980's, wanted to give the winery a Bordeaux flavor. that he has done, with wines that are superlative, and with their own identity. The winemaker, Kevin Morrisey, blends his wines with 100% organic grapes. The fruit is grown on the Estates, and the inhouse production lends value and more love to each bottle. by the way, when you buy a bottle of Ehlers Estate wine, all of the proceeds go to the Leducq Foundation. The Foundation was established to lend a hand financially to research facilities around the world who specialize in cardiovascular diseases. So, lend a hand, and treat yourself to a very fine wine, indeed.
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2009 Merlot
Final Blend: 93% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon
Fruit Source: 100% Estate Grown
Farming: 100% CCOF Certified Organic, 100% Demeter Certified Biodynamic
Oak Regime: 100% French Oak, 50% New
Primary Coopers: Nadalie, St. Martin, Baron, Demptos, De Jarnac
Harvest Date: September 21 – October 15, 2009
Bottling Date: August 26, 2011
Production: 950 cases
Average Maturity: 25.0 °Brix, 3.70 pH, 0.62 TA
Finished Wine: 14.5% alcohol
Winemaker’s Notes: A luscious, full and rich Merlot that illustrates the best potential of the Ehlers terroir. Creamy, with notes of milk chocolate, raspberry, black currants and licorice, this wine has a broad mouth filling texture that is adorned with thyme, sage, and kiwi, and finishes with the classically silky tannins for which our Merlot is recognized.
Vintage Notes: The extraordinary 2009 growing season brought us yet another drought year, which is generally ideal for winegrapes, yet not so great for everything else. We had a beautiful, long warm sunny summer with and endless string of hot days and cool nights. The red wines emerged from the fermentation tanks with brilliant color, fantastic extraction, and ripe, mature, supple tanins. The Ehlers crew brought all of our fruit in before the onslaught of early October rains which caught many Napa Valley vintners by surprise.
The Ehlers Estate Story
At Ehlers Estate, our goal is to produce wines that are a reflection of the land from which they come. We operate as a small family farm, and our values: sustainability, community, quality, philanthropy, and history, reflect that. In 1985, passionate for business, Bordeaux-style wines, and giving back, Jean and Sylviane Leducq acquired and began a revitalization of the historic 43-acre Bernard Ehlers estate vineyard and winery, located on the coveted loamy benchlands just north of St. Helena. With Jean Leducq’s passing in 2002, the winery became an asset of the couple’s esteemed Leducq Foundation, and today the farming, winemaking, and stylistic direction is entrusted to winemaker Kevin Morrisey. After replanting the vineyards on what are some of the finest winegrowing soils in the Napa Valley, constructing a new state of the art winery and barrel building, and defining a wine style that is at once Californian and European, Ehlers Estate has come to enjoy a unique position in the Napa Valley: farming organically and biodynamically, producing world class wines, and returning all profits to benefit cardiovascular research around the globe. The winery produces Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The flagship, Cabernet Sauvignon “1886”, is an assemblage from the westernmost Perkins loam parcels and the Aikens loam knoll behind the barrel chai.
The Ehlers Estate Vineyard and Viticulture Profile
History: The Ehlers Estate vineyard is located on an historic winegrowing site in the northern part of Napa Valley’s acclaimed St. Helena appellation. Grapes have been cultivated on this coveted site since the mid-1800s. The vineyard was replanted using a diversity of clone and rootstock selections under the guidance of renowned enologist, Jacques Boissenot, in 1995, 1996 and 1997. Today, under the leadership of Winemaker and General Manger Kevin Morrisey, the Ehlers Estate Vineyard, which is the source of exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Sauvignon Blanc, is certified organic and is farmed using both organic and biodynamic principles.
Contiguous Layout: The Ehlers Estate vineyard benefits from a unique Old World layout that is quite rare in California. The historic Ehlers winery building is located in the center of the contiguous estate vineyard. The farthest point on the property from the winery is approximately 600 yards, allowing the Ehlers team to have complete control over every aspect of the viticulture program, leading to greater focus and quality.
Diversity: The contiguous 42-acre Ehlers Estate vineyard offers a remarkable diversity of soils, clones and rootstocks, and is approached as a mosaic of small vineyard blocks. The vineyard is divided into five main blocks (based primarily on soil type) and 25 sub-blocks, which are largely defined by unique combinations of clone and rootstock. Eleven of these blocks (totaling 25 acres) are dedicated to six different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon planted on multiple rootstocks, allowing the winemaking team an expansive palette of fruit during the blending process. The vineyard also features seven sub-blocks of Merlot, four of Cabernet Franc, two of Sauvignon Blanc and a block of Petit Verdot.
The site’s 39.4-cultivated acres display four distinctive soil types, each of which offers unique growing conditions that enhance the diversity of the vineyard. These soil profiles include a knoll with sandy, low vigor soils, a section with rich, well-draining sandy loam soils, a low-elevation section with dense, heavy clay soils, and a very rocky, mineral-rich section at the base of Spring Mountain (the primary source of Cabernet Sauvignon for Ehlers Estate’s sought-after “1886” bottling). Row orientations in the vineyard are east/west and north/south.
Because of several factors including the estate’s varietal differentiation, clone and rootstock selections, and a range of vine ages and soil types, there is usually an entire month between the picking of the first and last grape. This, combined with the fact that the vineyard surrounds the winery, makes it possible to pick all the grapes at ideal ripeness, which in turn helps to produce wines with beautifully articulated flavors.
Microclimate: Because the vineyard is located at the valley’s narrowest point, between the Mayacamas Mountains to the west and Howell Mountain to the east, it benefits from a unique microclimate. This location allows for constant airflow through the vineyard, which brings fog in the morning, but clears it out in the afternoons, giving the vineyard ample sunshine, mediated by cooling breezes. These breezes also moderate heat spikes, allowing for excellent, even ripening of the fruit.
Practices: Morrisey, Vineyard Foreman Francisco Vega, and Ehlers Estate’s fulltime, seven-person vineyard crew work to honor the diversity of the vineyard. In practice, this means that each of the site’s 25 sub-blocks benefits from farming techniques tailored to its combination of soil, clone and rootstock. All hedging and canopy management is done by hand, and depending on the varietal, vines can receive up to six passes of pruning and thinning to limit yields. Instead of setting arbitrary yield limits, the team works to limit total clusters. The number of clusters varies based on block, soil and varietal, with an overall average of 14 clusters per plant.
Though the Ehlers Estate vineyard uses a vertical trellis, the crew has begun converting the vines to cane pruning for Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc.
Organic Farming: As part of a vineyard-focused, socially responsible approach to winemaking, the Ehlers Estate vineyard is farmed exclusively using earth-friendly organic farming methods. These methods help to preserve the purity and character of the estate’s fruit, leading to stellar wines reflecting an authentic sense of place. Ehlers Estate adopted organic practices beginning in the fall of 2004. Since then, no pesticides have been used on the vineyard. In July of 2008, Ehlers Estate was awarded organic certification, reflecting more than three years of deep commitment to organic farming practices.
Biodynamic Farming: In the spring of 2005, Ehlers Estate began practicing biodynamic farming, a holistic, chemical-free approach to agriculture that is practiced by several of the world’s oldest and most respected wineries. Based on the work of Austrian scientist and philosopher Rudolph Steiner, biodynamic farming is a comprehensive alternative to industrialized agriculture that approaches vineyards (or farms) as complete living organisms. To achieve greater vineyard health and fruit quality, biodynamics focuses on naturally derived plant and foliar treatments. Winemaker Kevin Morrisey works closely with renowned biodynamic consultant, Philippe Armenier, to ensure that Ehlers Estate embraces all of the strict criteria and practices of biodynamics, including the use of all plant and foliar treatments, and adherence to the biodynamic calendar and the natural cycles of the earth.
One of the elements that make biodynamic and organic viticulture so successful is the intimate, hands-on attention given at every stage of winegrowing. This hands-on attention greatly enhances quality. Simply put, the wines of Ehlers Estate are made from estate-grown grapes that come from healthy, happy, chemical-free vines.
