2015 Meritage

Tasting Notes & Food Pairing

The 2015 Meritage opens with a bounty of dark fruit, graphite, and dried chili flake, the palate deepens to cassis berries and minerality with a long lingering finish of baked plums and leather. Pair this wine with hearty cuts of beef, Mediterranean cuisine with olives, casseroles, and sharp greens such as broccoli rabe.

Best enjoyed at 55° - 60°f
Suggested drink window: now - 2029

Winemaking

• 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc

• Vineyard locations: 96% east side of Seneca Lake, 4% west side of Cayuga Lake

• Hand harvested October

• Unfined & rough filtered

• Vegan

• Brix: 22.8°-24° • pH: 3.51 • TA: 6.9 g/L • RS: 0.2% • ABV: 18.8% • Bottled: 4/14/2017

• Cases produced: 270

2015 Tech Sheet

2015 Vintage Notes

Yet again the Finger Lakes experienced another very harsh winter in 2015. Two harsh winters in a row caused lots of bud death and vine damage, but as always, lower yields equal improved fruit quality. In spite of the harsh winter we were graced with a growing season that started out cool and wet but finished with a healthy showing of sun and heat. Harvest kicked off at the usual time with lots of sun and was temperate with not much rain. All in all it was a good harvest and though yields were down between 20-40% on nearly every varietal the result was exceptional quality, complex fruit across the board. Expect lush, rich, rounded wines from this vintage!