Grapes of Roth Merlot Technical Info

The 2011 growing season is a great testimony to the special terroir of our vineyard and to the diligence our vineyard team. Despite a brush by hurricane Irene, we were able to preserve the grapes on the vines late into October producing ripe grapes, which brought forth dense and elegant wines with amazing structure and classic power. 

 

The Cabernet Sauvignon was carefully hand-harvested on October 23rd and the Merlot on October 31. The grapes underwent further hand-selection on our sorting table. They were subsequently destemmed, but not crushed, and fermented in stainless steel. The fermentation went up to 90°F and the cap management was done via pump-overs three times a day. The total maceration lasted 24 days, when the grapes were gently transferred and pressed, separating the press fraction. Following seven days of lees settling, the wine was moved into French oak barriques-- 33% new, 33% one year old and 33% two years old. Malolactic fermentation finished 100% and the wine was carefully racked a total of five times during the maturation time, which lasted for 20 months.  The wine was bottled unfiltered and unfined on July 31st 2013, producing only 2616 750 ml bottles.