Radikon Merlot 2007 (1.0L)

93-94 VM

The 2007 Merlot, which is the current release, is both woodsy and herbal in the glass with flowery underbrush, flintstone, rosemary and crushed wild berries forming its bouquet. It soothes with silky textures, as cool-toned acidity and mineral tones excite the senses, giving way to dark red fruits and exotic spice. It finishes with a wall of fine-grained tannins that create an almost-chalky sensation as nuances of steeped plum and a bitter twang of cocoa slowly fade. The 2007 Merlot is fermented on the skins for 30-35 days, followed by five years in neutral barriques. - EG, Vinous Media

This wine is released in 500ml and liter formats each vintage. Stanko believed that the 750ml size did not provide the right amount of wine for two people to share at dinner. Therefore, he wanted to bottle all of his wines in liters and half-liters so that two people could then have a half liter of white and a half liter of red.

In studies that he conducted with a cork manufacturer, a custom cork for these two bottles was designed that gives the optimal surface-to-air permeability ratio for aging their wines. It is a narrower, smaller cork than the classic model. In deference to this cork, Stanko himself created a prototype bottle from silicon for the new liters and half-liters, and then had them manufactured at a local bottle factory.

Winemaking: The grapes macerate and ferment in oak vats for 30/60 days. They then age in used barriques for five years. Bottle aging depends on the vintage (average of five years).

SO2: No sulfur added to the wine

Soil Composition: Shale, Clay

Farming:
Organic (not certified)

Age of vines:
25 years on average

Fining/Filtration:
Unfined/Unfiltered