The 2007 Merlot/Cab blends, complete with arty labels.
After nearly a year of fairly close attention and prolonged aging, we finally bottled the 07 Merlot blends: a 50-50 cab/Merlot, and a 90-10 of the same breakdown. It's tasting quite nice at this point, but the hope is it rounds out a bit in the bottle before we crack them.
We currently have our 08 going as well. Though it's supposed to be a stellar year for pinot noir — the founder of Willamette Valley Vineyards told me it was the best vintage he's seen in his 25 years in the business — what we got this year was about three gallons of Merlot and three gallons of Cabernet that Stewart snagged from McMenamins. He also nabbed a bunch of chardonnay grapes, which we pressed back in October, so we've got those fermenting away. We shall see how it all matures . . .
