Northstar Columbia Valley Merlot 1999
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Harvest began in late September, giving extra time for flavors to mature. The fruit's complexity and concentration were further enhanced by smaller than usual berry size and low yields.
Aged for 18 months in French and American oak, using 75% new and 25% one-year-old barrels. Individual lots were gravity racked every three months for clarity, with a total of 6 rackings. More than 13 individual lots and 20 blend possibilities were tasted for the final blend.
"Northstar has ramped up production to 2,900 cases, on its way to 15,000 once the new winery (being built in Walla Walla) is operational. Here is flat-out killer fruit, stacked with all the flavors of the rainbow, that finds the silky sweet spot on the palate and goes for a long, long ride. This winery is on a roll."
-Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Wines 2002
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Northstar, located in Walla Walla, Washington, aims to make Merlots that can be considered among the world's best, using fruit sourced from one of the world's best regions for the variety: Washington state. Winemaker, David "Merf" Merfeld, blends New World fruit with an old world winemaking style, influenced by Bordeaux's "right bank," to create his highly-acclaimed wines. Northstar produces two Merlot-based wines from the Columbia Valley and Walla Walla AVAs, as well as the Stella Maris red blend and extremely limited production bottlings of the blending component varieties that Merf uses as his "spice box" in creating Northstar's Merlots.