2003 San Ysidro Merlot
Vineyards
The grapes for this wine were grown in a duo of vineyards in the recently-recognized San Ysidro District. The San Ysidro District A.V.A. spans the eastern foothills of the southern Santa Clara Valley where the Diablo Range meets the Gavilan Mountains. San Ysidro Vineyard enjoys a marine-influenced climate… full sunshine in the morning and afternoons followed by ocean breezes blowing through a gap of the Pajaro Valley to cool it in the evenings. The long hang time associated with such a moderate climate allows the grapes to develop abundant fruit esters. Mann Vineyard enjoys a very similar climate; however, is planted to the series of clones including Clones 3 and 9, and lends our wine its Bordeaux-like backbone
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In the Winery
The grapes were harvested by hand in mid October 2003. Yields were average, 3.0-3.5 tons per acre. Arriving at the winery, we destemmed the grapes and fermented them in small lots in open top fermentors. Over the next two weeks, the grapes were macerated using the traditional punch down method. The whole-berry fermentation combined with the cooler temperatures maintained in small lot fermentation allow us to produce a rich Merlot, with all of its abundant fruit intact.
Following the wine's initial fermentation, we barreled the wine in a combination of French (70%) and air-dried American (30%) oak. The wine was bottled in early September of 2005.
