2018 Merlot

Tasting Notes

The aromatics of this wine are wonderfully infused with tart strawberry, dusty beets, and toffee. On the palate, resinous herbs intermingle with pie crust and vanilla, followed by notes of tobacco, lavender, and clove oil. Hearty and resplendent, this wine has exemplary depth and power, and true to Seavey style can be cellared for fifteen years or more.

Ratings

Jeb Dunnuck (Jan. 2021) 93 points
“Leading off the reds, the 2018 Merlot (100% Merlot) sports a vivid ruby/purple color as well as juicy notes of Bing cherries, leafy herbs, conifer tree, and spring flowers. With beautiful purity, notable elegance, and silky tannins, it’s just a balanced, elegant style of red that will evolve for 15 years in cold cellars.”

Antonio Galloni, Vinous (Dec. 2020) 93 points
“Seavey’s 2018 Merlot is bright, fresh and beautifully perfumed. Sweet crushed red berry fruit, spice and floral notes give the Merlot its effusive personality. Medium in body and impeccably refined, the 2018 Merlot is fabulous. The Seavey Merlot remains one of the most distinctive, under the radar wines in Napa Valley.”

Vineyard Notes

Seavey’s 25th vintage of single-vineyard estate Merlot comes entirely from grapes grown on the steep hillside blocks of our estate which we have been farming for over forty years. The 2018 year began with steady February rainfall, followed by a mild spring and early summer. The growing condition were near-ideal with steady sun during the day and cooler marine influences at night. The result was an impressively generous crop. Our Merlot grapes were harvested in mid-September.

Production Notes

Following classic Bordeaux methods, we separately harvest and vinify each vineyard block. In the cool of the early morning, grapes from our 2018 harvest were promptly de-stemmed and the uncrushed berries were gently transferred into fermentation tanks to carefully manage the tannins and resulting wine texture. Following whole-berry fermentation, the wine was aged in French oak barrels (35% new) for 20 months before bottling in June 2020.

100% ESTATE GROWN, PRODUCED & BOTTLED, NAPA VALLEY AVA