Winemaker Notes

The 2019 Fiftyrow Merlot opens with complex aromas of blueberry and blackberry and fresh hints of cardamom, anise, and other exotic spices. The dark fruit flavors continue over to the palate, with notes of forest floor, and the exotic spices that you picked on the nose. This is a big Merlot with elegant tannins that provide structure and will help this wine age gracefully.

The Moon Vineyard lies in the southern part of the Napa Valley, not far from Domain Carneros. Until recently, this fruit was purchased by one of the iconic names in Napa Merlot. We were able to pry some of this fruit from Jim Moon to make our 2019 Fiftyrow Moon Vineyard Merlot. Jim has two sections to his vineyard: the lower section and the upper section. We decided to take a mix of both sections and, after working with this fruit, we are glad we did. We did everything by hand from sorting to punch downs and then aged it 15 months in 40 % new French oak barrels.