Sterling Vineyards Reserve SVR Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley 05

Tasting Notes:
Our 2005 Sterling Vineyards SVR Reserve celebrates the synergy between Bordeaux-style grape varietals with an artistic blend focused on finesse. Winemaker Mike Westrick describes this wine as elegant, graceful and beautifully balanced, with seductive layers of complexity. The wine?s inviting aromas and opulent flavors fill your senses with ripe blackberries and black cherries. Nuances of mocha, cedar, toasty oak and violet spice the rich fruit expression then linger on the persistent finish, inviting you to take another sip. The wine is undeniably intense, with good weight on the palate. Fine-grain tannins softly structure the mouthfilling flavors.

Vineyard Notes:
The wine?s complex flavors come from four outstanding vineyards in Napa Valley and one in Knights Valley. Small-berried Cabernet Sauvignon from Rutherford and Knights Valley provides the wine?s core, giving it deep berry notes and structure. Merlot from Sterling Vineyards Bear Flats Vineyard just south of the winery adds black cherry notes and heightened aromas, while Petit Verdot brushes the wine with a hint of violets. Petite Sirah, though technically of Rhône rather than Bordeaux heritage, finishes the blend with its lush, spicy personality.

Production Notes:
88% Napa Valley, 12% Knights Valley

Winemaker Notes:
The 2005 vintage provided long hangtime for notably richly flavored grapes with balanced acidity. Heavy winter rains during vine dormancy gave way to a dry, mild March. Significant rains returned in April and May, delaying bloom and berry set. Summer temperatures were desirably mild, with few heat spikes. September?s fog and cool temperatures slowed sugar accumulation, and then perfect conditions arrived in October for a late harvest. We expect this vintage to be one of the best of the decade.

Production:
5773