Merlot
Napa Valley

Clos Pegase Napa Valley Merlot

Wine Stats


Vintage: 2007
Variety: 89% Merlot
6% Cabernet Franc
5% Petit Verdot
Vineyard: Merlot- Mitsuko's Vineyard (Carneros, Napa Valley)
Petit Verdot- Dunaweal Vineyard (Calistoga)
Cabernet Franc- Dunaweal Vineyard (Calistoga)
Soil: haire clay-loam (Mitsuko's Vineyard)
sandy clay-loam (Dunaweal Vineyard)
Harvest Date: October 5-18 (Mitsuko's Vineyard)
October 3-8 (Dunaweal Vineyard Cabernet Franc)
September 25-26 (Dunaweal Vineyard Petit Verdot)
Aging: 15 months in 26% new French oak
6% new American oak
Alcohol: 14.7%
T.A.: 6.2 g/L
pH: 3.59
Residual Sugar: 0.42 g/L
Bottled: March 2009
Cases: 5903
Optimal Drinking: 2011-2016


Tasting Notes

This intensely-colored wine displays aromas of plum jam and blackberry syrup, framed by hints of baker's spices, vanilla, licorice, graphite and toast. In the mouth, the wine has bright and concentrated forward fruit supported by mid–palate volume, a distinctive fine–grained tannin structure and a lengthy cocoa–dominated finish.

Vineyard & Vintage Notes

Winter of 2007 gave us one the lowest rainfalls in the past decade, starting the vines off with limited reserves for the growing season. Budbreak occurred in mid–March with flowering 2 months later. Our phenological timing was close to the 'average' dates for the growth stages of budbreak, flowering and veraison. Vigor was restricted by the low soil–moisture levels, which enhanced the natural conditions for creating balanced canopies. Summer was mild, and the beginning of harvest saw temperatures hover near 100° F in late August, starting us off with a flurry of activity. Yields were low to moderate, giving great concentration to the wines. Every wine is the sum of every individual weather event of the vintage, and the 2007 vintage is truly spectacular.

Winemaking Notes

Fermentation was conducted with the natural yeast, providing complexity of flavor and reinforcing the terroir. Extraction was individually tailored by wine lot, with the Merlot receiving shorter overall time on the skins to maintain aromatics and charm, while the blending varieties were maintained longer on the skins to smooth the tannins and stabilize color. The 2007 wines were racked in the winter of 2008 and blended the following spring. In early 2009, the wine was racked up to tank to prepare for bottling after total élevage of 15 months in our caves before bottling in March 2009.

Previous Vintages