Past Wines
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Featured Wine
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Tasting Notes
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Technical Data
Schug 2003 Carneros Estate Winery "Heritage Reserve" MerlotOnly 289 Cases Produced This featured wine is no longer available for purchase on Indie Winemakers. Join our Mailing List (see at left) to be notified when a new featured wine is offered. |
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About the Vineyard
Founded in 1980, Schug Carneros Estate Winery is the showcase of one of California's most celebrated winemakers. Walter Schug's reputation blossomed during his tenure as Founding Winemaker for Joseph Phelps Vineyards in the 1970s, where he made California's first proprietary Bordeaux-Style blend (Insignia) and legendary vineyard designated Cabernets (Bacchus and Eisele Vineyards).
Schug Carneros Estate Winery combines old world understanding and tradition with modern winemaking techniques. By using only the finest grapes available, and maintaining the best winemaking values, these wines have gained acceptance worldwide as true contemporary classics. The 2003 Heritage Reserve Merlot won BEST OF THE BEST! Quarterly Review of Wines, and was a Gold medal winner at the San Francisco Chronicle wine competition.
Summary of Tasting Event
This wine was tasted on November 28, 2007 by a panel of 8 tasters in a blind tasting format and paired with Penne pasta with smoked chicken, fresh asparagus and shitake mushrooms.
This Heritage Reserve Merlot is blended in the Bordeaux tradition using Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon for maximum complexity. This Merlot showed berry and herbaceous notes in the initial aromas we picked-up. After 20 minutes in the glass, the nose opened up to bright aromas of strawberry, blackberry, with notes of cedar. On the palate we found the same bright berry flavors along with a slight caramel finish. We found the tannins and acidity to be nicely balanced and expect this wine can age a bit more. Drink now or hold to celebrate the first decade of the new millennium with it.
| Wine Profile Style | ||
| Light Bodied | Medium Bodied | Full Bodied |
| Drink Now (0-3 yrs) | Will Age (3-5 yrs) | Will Age (8-10 yrs) |
| Slightly Fruity | Fruity | Very Fruity |
| No Tannins | Softer Tannins | Heavier Tannins |
| Low Acidity | Medium Acidity | High Acidity |
| No Residual Sugar Dry | Off Dry | Sweet |
Schug 2003 Carneros Estate Winery "Heritage Reserve" MerlotOnly 289 Cases Produced This featured wine is no longer available for purchase on Indie Winemakers. Join our Mailing List (see at left) to be notified when a new featured wine is offered. |
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Indie Winemakers' Tasting Notes
Our mission is to provide unbiased opinions of the wine being offered. These notes come from up to 10 guests who tasted this wine in a blind tasting format (wine is concealed so their identity is unknown). Why this format? Tasting blind completely throws out any hype associated with a certain winery, style, price point, etc; it forces the taster to accept what is in the glass without any predetermined notions. Our guests utilize Robert Parker's Glossary of Wine Terms for their comments for consistency purposes. In addition, we utilize the wine aroma wheel to enhance one’s ability to describe the complexity of wine flavor. Notes are posted on this wine during the tasting to ensure they accurately reflect the impressions.
Tasting Notes
- DK: Nose shows fruit but opens up nicely to a woody/earthy smell. I tasted a bit of pepper/spice as it aged in my glass. Opens up well.
- DAV: Lots of fruit in both the smell and flavor of this wine. Had a good spicy taste to it as it aged a few minutes in my glass.
- MS: Smelled and tasted lots of fruits and berries. Great wine to hold for 2010 to celebrate the first 2000 decade.
- SS: Took about 10 minutes in the glass for me to get the fruit, mainly strawberry.
Schug 2003 Carneros Estate Winery "Heritage Reserve" MerlotOnly 289 Cases Produced
This featured wine is no longer available for purchase on Indie Winemakers. Join our Mailing List (see at left) to be notified when a new featured wine is offered. |
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Wine Technical Data |
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| Blend | 94% Merlot (Sangiacomo, Ricci, Rancho Salina, Sahbari Vineyards), 3% Cabernet Sauvignon (Rancho Salina Vineyard), 3% Cabernet Franc (Rancho Salina Vineyard) |
| Appelation | 85% Carneros 15% Sonoma Valley |
| Harvest Dates | September 22nd through October 23rd, 2003 |
| Sugar at Harvest | 24.7 degrees Brix average |
| Fermentation | 14 days in stainless steel tanks, pumped over three times daily |
| Aging / Cooperage | 30% aged in new French oak barrels, 10% aged in new American oak barrels, 60% aged in 1 to 4 year old French and American oak barrels |
| Alcohol | 14.0% by volume |
| Acidity | TA = 0.71g/100ml; pH = 3.48 |
Winemaker's Tasting Notes
The Merlot is sourced from the cool Carneros region, where the extremely long growing season allows this varietal to ripen slowly, developing maximum varietal character and depth of flavor while retaining bright acidity. It has a spicy bouquet of lavender and mint, rich deep color and full-bodied flavors of cherry, cassis and chocolate. Try it now or age it for 5 to 7 years.