Black cherry, chocolate, toasted espresso bean, fresh saddle leather, chewy but well integrated tannins, just a huge, complex, world class Merlot. Made by John Abbott before he left to start his own winery, this wine is quite special.
From the winery: "The black cherry, raspberry and chocolate aromas found in our Canoe Ridge Merlot are even more intense in this reserve bottling. The concentration of these flavors allows the use of more new oak barrels without overpowering the fruit flavors. The higher level of oak adds more richness and roundness to the palate and adds smoke and sweet toastiness to the aroma. We blended in a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc to fill out the middle palate and to add additional aromas and complexity."
Detailed Info, Previous Vintage Notes, Reviews:
ABOUT THE VINTAGE
The 2001 vintage continued a four-year streak of exceptional vintages at our Canoe
Ridge Vineyard estate and in the Columbia Valley as a whole. We enjoyed warm, dry
growing conditions with average crop levels, which is perfect for Merlot. The grape
berries and clusters were small, in turn, yielding concentrated, richly-colored wine.
ABOUT THE VINEYARD
Our Reserve Merlot is grown primarily in a vineyard block that shows a great balance
in the soil with the fine sandy loam prevalent at our vineyard overlying volcanic basalt.
This mixture slows vine growth, which produces grape clusters and berries that are
small and very concentrated in flavor and color. Our estate vineyard's unique location
at a broad expanse of the Columbia River in eastern Washington allows it to grow
superior grapes. The vast river moderates the temperature, extending the grapes' hangtime
on the vines during the long summer, yet protecting the vines in the winter. The
vineyard's location on the northeast side of the ridge protects it from wind damage.
It is one of the largest estate-owned single vineyards in the state.
ABOUT THE WINE
For our 2001 Canoe Ridge Vineyard Reserve we blended one barrel of Lot 2
Cabernet Sauvignon with our Lot 10 Merlot. The lot numbers come from our
practice of fermenting the wine in small lots so we can extract the best expression of
different blocks of the vineyard. Depending on the lots, we used different fermentation
practices, yeast strains and barrel coopers to create individual components that
make up the final blend. In 2001, Lot 10 was the Canoe Crew favorite.
The black cherry, raspberry and chocolate aromas found in our estate Canoe Ridge
Vineyard Merlot are even more intense in our Reserve bottling. These concentrated
flavors allow us to use more new oak barrels to bring richness and roundness to the
palate and sweet toasty aromas without overpowering the fruit flavors. The addition
of one barrel of Cabernet Sauvignon adds to the full mouthfeel plus brings additional
aromas and complexity.
FOOD RECOMMENDATIONS
The richness of this Reserve Merlot makes it a good partner with equally fullflavored
foods such as roast lamb, New York steak or duck glazed with a dried
cherry sauce to match the wine's fruit. During the holidays, its smooth tannins and
luscious fruit make it a good choice with roast turkey stuffed with herbs.
