Signature Merlot 2018

Following hand-harvest and hand sorting, fermentation begins with a 4 day cold soak in traditional fermenters with gentle pump-overs for controlled color extraction and tannin management. After fermentation is complete, the wine is aged 20 months in 70% new French oak barrels.

The Signature Merlot is sourced from two of Darioush’s prime estate vineyards: Oak Knoll and Mount Veeder. The Oak Knoll vineyard, located on the valley floor, allows the fruit to reach prime concentration and carefully ripen to develop the plush nature while the Mount Veeder vineyard benefits from cool microclimates and soils that provide acidity and focus to the final wine.

A nod to the long, even-keeled growing season on our high-elevation Sage Vineyard atop Mount Veeder, 2018 Signature Merlot displays the concentration and finesse of a classic mountain-grown Merlot. Aromatically complex with licorice, violets, dusty cocoa, and fine leather, the flavors move from dense black cherry and currant fruits, refreshed with a blood orange-like acidity to savory herb, forest, and bergamot notes. The wine finishes powerful and polished, with rich plummy fruit and freshly baked pie crust, and will develop further complexity with aging.