2010 was a wonderful warm and dry vintage, perfect conditions for the Whalebone Vineyard terroir to elicit the very best from the old Merlot and Cabernet Franc vines.The warm vintage Merlot from Whalebone Vineyard had very ripe plum and spice with the big blocky tannin structure that is only apparent when Merlot is grown in a highly suited terroir and a warm vintage.
The Cabernet Franc was much more floral and delicate with a whisp of the leafiness for which this noble variety is renowned. The tannin structure of the Cabernet Franc was silky and fine grained.The combination of the Merlot and Cabernet Franc has a synergy for which the wines of the “right bank” of Bordeaux have long been famed.
In a rare departure from the normal the Cabernet Franc is the dominant part of the blend, 58% and also dominates the aroma, flavour and tannin structure of the 2010 Tapanappa Merlot-Cabernet Franc. The foundation of this wine is solidly Merlot and the superstructure ethereally Cabernet Franc.
2010 Tapanappa Merlot-Cabernet Franc is the product of a great warm vintage and “is a pure expression of the unique terroir of the Whalebone Vineyard.”
