Our Wines

Heron Wines

Merlot, Mendocino County

VINEYARD: Mendocino County

Mendocino is universally recognized as the Mecca of organic grape growing in California and where residents voted in 2004 to become a GMO-free county. The majority of the grapes for our Merlot come from the rolling benchland east of the little town of Hopland. Cobbly, poor soil ensures the vines will struggle, resulting in more intense and flavorful fruit. Mendocino’s warm days and cool, chilly nights are excellent growing conditions for Bordeaux Varietals, including Merlot. Compared to adjacent Napa and Sonoma Counties, the temperatures are cooler, creating a longer growing season, a longer hang time and very concentrated berries.

VINEYARD AND CANOPY MANAGEMENT
Leaf removal after bunch closure to promote ripening. VSP (Vertical shoot positioning) is workable due to poor soils. Canopies aren’t vigorous, thus allowing bunches the correct amount of filtered sun.

WEATHER PECULIARITIES: Spring – Cool into May with uneven flowering. Summer – Moderate summer weather, large canopies. Fall – Cool in September with some rain and then warmer in mid to late fall, proving favorable for Bordeaux Varietals. Berries were smaller than usual and had lower sugar levels, higher acid and lower pH. Lower than average yields due to uneven fruit set.

Alcohol: 13.0% – refreshingly balanced in today’s world of high-alcohol wines.

VA: 0.051 TA: 0.55 pH: 3.59 RS: 0.06%

WINEMAKING DETAILS: A pre-fermentation cold-soak at 50° initiates rich fruit and color extraction; followed by closed stainless steel fermentation. 25% of the wine is drawn off to finish fermentation in oak to enrich the mouth-feel and gain greater fruit/oak cohesion. Innoculation for malolatic fermentation in barrel and tank follows immediately upon dryness. The wine is aged for about another eight months in new, one and two year old French oak barrels with medium-toast.

WINEMAKER’S COMMENTS
Deep in color and rich on the palate, with lots of red cherry, red and dark plum flavors. The tannins are moderately firm and nicely frame the forward fruit. The result is a balanced wine with finesse, intensity and elegance.

ABOUT LAELY HERON & HERON WINES
An unconventional childhood – living in mining towns on four continents – fostered Laely’s love of travel, adventure and a desire to explore and to experience the cultures, foods and wines of the world. Wanderlust and curiosity have led her on many paths including studying winemaking in Bordeaux, opening a restaurant and importing wine in Denmark, and pursuing Master of Wine studies. With this love of wine and an entrepreneurial spirit, she started Heron Wines in 1994 with little more than a credit card, a “business plan” sketched out on a napkin, and an idea to make great and affordable wine. When she started Heron Wines, it was unusual for an American woman to be making her own wine in France. Now Heron Wines is making wine in three countries. From the beginning, the goal has been simple: for each wine, find the best vineyards and the best regions wherever in the world they may be. Even today, Laely continues her global exploration to make distinctive and delicious wines from the best places on earth.

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