[ Home > Wines > Red Wines > Merlot > Washington - Merlot > Washington - Merlot > L'Ecole 41 Merlot Columbia Valley 2005 ]
L'Ecole No 41 is indisputably best known for Merlot — their principle red variety since 1983! Fermentation control is carried out in a traditional Bordeaux style, with small lot fermentations punched down by hand for optimal color and flavor extraction. When the fermentation is completed, the must is gravity fed into the press. The wine is gently racked into a combination of new and older French and American oak barrels and aged for 18 months. With rich black cherry and berry fruit flavors in balance with the tannins, they traditionally bottle this wine unfined and unfiltered. "Crisp in texture and generous in flavor, offering currant and blackberry fruit that's shaded with herbal notes as the finish lingers. Drink now through 2008. 6,843 cases made. –HS" - Rated 89, Wine Spectator "The 2004 Merlot Columbia Valley has 12% Cabernet Franc, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2% Petit Verdot in the blend. Drawn from a number of vineyards, the wine spent 18 months in French oak, 40% new. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered. Dark ruby-colored, it has an attractive nose of toasty red and black fruits, especially cassis and black cherry. The wine is forward and supple-textured with plenty of ripe, sweet fruit and excellent balance. It can be enjoyed now and over the next 6 years." - Rated 88, Robert Parker "This is a very classy, sophisticated wine, blended from a wide range of Washington vineyards. It’s really a Right Bank-styled Bordeaux blend, 80% Merlot, 12% Cab Franc, and a smattering of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Berries and spice, chocolate and herb, and many other lightly applied nuances make this a pleasure to sip. — P.G. (10/1/2006)" - Rated 90, Wine Enthusiast |
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