2020 Seven Ranchlands Merlot
Growing conditions, especially temperatures, have a huge effect on Merlot's flavor. Cline’s is similar to its Bordeaux counterparts and imparts blackberry, plum, and cocoa flavors laced with herbal accents and green olive finishing with silky tannins and finesse.
The grapes for this wine came from our Five Sisters Home Ranch located on the Cline winery property in Sonoma Carneros and from our Catapult Ranch located East of Petaluma in the Petaluma Gap AVA. Both Carneros and the Petaluma Gap fall within the "Sonoma Coast" AVA. The vineyards see cooling fog in the morning and sunny, breezy afternoons. Soils range from clay loam to well drained volcanic soils.
Grapes are handpicked, then destemmed, and pumped to a fermentor. Indigenous yeast coaxes fermentation. Temperature is capped at 85ºF to
balance fruit extraction and retention. Wine is pressed and completes malolactic fermentation before laying down to neutral and new oak to complete aging before bottling.
