Taste: Deep purple, velvet color with a pretty nose of red raspberries, blackberries, allspice, and toasty oak. On the palate she's rich with chewy fruit in near-prefect balance of fruit and tannin. The flavors are succulent and brimming with highly extracted fruit, true to the seductive aromas found in the nose. Impeccable structure, perfect balance, and supple mouthfeel made it the first stand-alone bottled Merlot we have done in years.
Cameron Confidential: This wine was made for us by the same folks who made Lot 74 and Lot 75, the two Oak Knoll Cabernets. Here's the scoop: We were approached recently by one of the mainstay families of the wine business who, having recently divested themselves of their last winery (over the years they have built and sold several), were keeping their Oak Knoll vineyards and contemplating their own "virtual" brand. Sidetracked by a growing wine barrel business, they offered us the wine—provided we buy as much Cabernet as we buy Merlot. No problem, we say, let's taste the wines. Well, you all know what comes next: We loved the wines, blah, blah, blah, bought them all, etc., etc. Luckily for you, we bought these last December when prices were vastly lower than they are in today's environment. Current pricing would put this wine closer to $18 under our program and $35 – $40 under other folks.
Lot 75 2006 Oak Knoll Cabernet hails from the new Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley. Oak Knoll, which was given "District" status in 2004, is located just south of the Yountville District and, as such, is considered to have the coolest climate in Napa next to Carneros. To read more about the district please click here (and for an at-a-glance map of all Napa Valley's appellations click here). Oak Knoll is HOT, but not in the temperature sense, and much like its neighbor to the east, Coombsville/Tulocay, is seeing greatly increased demand for grapes but not from the big guys; rather, demand in Oak Knoll is from small winemakers who are crafting elegantly powerful expressions of Napa Cabernet. Again, the style here is more iron fist/velvet glove than Betty Boop, and Lot 94 reflects those same values. Made in a high-end custom crush facility from perfectly ripe 2006 fruit (great vintage—click here for more on 2006 harvest in Napa), Lot 94 saw only about 33% new French oak and, like Lots 74 and Lot 75, is more an expression of fruit elegance than oak. Made from 40-year-old vines in one of the largest plantings of Merlot in Napa Valley.
Lot 94
2006 Oak Knoll Merlot
- Vintage: 2006
- Appellation: Oak Knoll
- Grape: Merlot
- Alcohol by volume: 15%
- Production: 3,413 cases
- Release date: November 12, 2008
- Drink/Hold: Now and through 2015
- Online availability: Sold out
Downloads
- Lot 94 8.5 x 11 (pdf)
- Lot 94 small notes (pdf)
- Lot 94 sign (pdf)
