2000 Teatown Cellars Napa Valley Merlot

We try to make Napa Valley Merlot that is a little different. Vibrant Merlot fruit; lots of intense, purely extracted fruit, wrapped in a nicely structured oak blanket.

The 2000 vintage is a blend from two vineyard sources about a mile apart, north of St. Helena. Ballentine Vineyards, a major component of our 1999 Napa Valley Merlot, sold us 1500 gallons in 2000. And the fruit came from the same vineyard block as in 1999. I was also very fortunate to buy 2500 gallons of stunningly supple Merlot from Bennesere Vineyards.

The 2000 Napa Valley Merlot was aged in 100% new, center of France, oak cooperage, for seven months. I did not want to smother the wine in oak, but rather, smell and taste fruit primarily, oak secondarily. In August all of the wine was racked into a stainless tank to marry before bottling on August 30, 2001. 1446 cases produced.

Dark red/ruby color. On the nose blackberry and currant; underbrush with a touch of chocolate and toasty oak. In the mouth intense fruit flavors dominated by bing cherry and raspberry flavors, lush and supple, with moderate tannins and balanced well integrated oak. A long, lush finish of blackberry fruit, soft tannins and toasty oak.

A note about corks: How many times have you opened a bottle of wine and found it to be corked? The corks that we have used for this bottling are a type called "twin-top composite." With this type of cork, tainted bottles become a very rare event, significantly less than 1%, virtually non-existent.

If you would like to know about retailers in your area that carry Teatown Cellars Wines, need more information about us, or are interested in ordering our wine, please contact us.

Wine List Reviews Where to Buy Sellers' Information

About Teatown Cellars History of Teatown