THE C.R. SANDIDGE WINES

2020 Merlot

Merlot 100%

The 2020 vintage was a growing season rating an amazing 8.5 edging towards 9.0 on a scale of 0 to 10. Early – spring and summer weather was almost ideal. The only real wrinkle was a handful of wildfires located to the west and southwest of the vineyard. The distance between the wildfires and the Stone Tree vineyard was too great to cause smoke taint.

Click to Read More About the Vintage Year

Our 2020 Merlot was hand – harvested in the Wahluke Slope AVA Stone Tree vineyard. This vineyard is considered by Washington State winemakers to be one of our State’s best. The due south slope provides ideal sun exposure. The soils are calcareous basalt, silty loam and strewn with petrified remains of ancient trees.

  • Harvest:  All fruit was hand-picked, sorted and destemmed – crushed into one ton fermentation bins.
  • Fermentation:  A yeast developed in northern California was utilized for the primary fermentation.  The various musts were fermented for 7 days on the skins prior to pressing.
  • Malo-lactic Conversion:  Malo – lactic conversion was fully completed while the wine was in barrel.
  • The wine was aged for 21 months in French oak barrel.  The French oak forest we sourced was “Center of France”.
  • Filtration Level:  Very tight at bottling.

The Wine

Our 2020 Merlot shows what this glorious variety is capable of in Washington State. Very dark ruby red color, flavors and aromas of vanilla bean – graham cracker barrel notes abound. Ripe black cherries along with a touch of rose petal completes the flavor and aroma profile. Merlot is a great food wine or a serious sipping wine after a hard days work. Enjoy with a hearty beef stew or wild mushroom strudel.

Wine Specs

Specification Value
Alcohol Percentage: 14.4%
pH: 3.63
Acidity: 5.1g/liter
Residual Sugar: 1g/liter
Cases Produced: 100
AVA: Wahluke Slope

Non-Member Pricing

Bottle Price: $35.00
Case Discount: 15%

Club Member Pricing

Bottle Price: $28.00
Case Discount: 30%