Southbrook Triomphe Organic Merlot 2019
“In 2019, the Merlot performed best of all our Bordeaux varietals,” says winemaker Casey Hogan. “It ripened well with a good intensity of fruit, good structure and balancing acidity. I tasted the 2019 recently and it was still very young, without a whole lot of the tertiary character you get as a wine ages. For the Triomphe, we use fruit from organic growers and some of our own estate fruit. The Merlot was picked from mid-October to November and, if you can believe it, we picked our Icewine grapes in mid-November, before we had finished bringing in our Cabernet Sauvignon.” Not even Burgundy deals with such volatile challenges. Southbrook’s Poetica, the winery’s premium Bordeaux blend, was 60% Merlot in 2019; a testament to the quality and success of 2019’s Merlot.