Emme Wines "It's Not a Phase" Merlot 2024

The only wine in Emme's current release from the warmer 2024 harvest, the Merlot shows the warmth and richness of its vintage. Nakai Vineyard ripened faster in 2024 than in 2023, and the Merlot was picked a full month earlier. The resulting wine is dark and grippy, and is just finally relaxing enough to be drinkable, but will certainly age well for many years.

Once picked, the Merlot was foot crushed in tank and left to ferment whole cluster – no destemming at all, which adds to the freshness of the final wine. After just over a week on skins, the Merlot was pressed to stainless steel to finish primary fermentation. Once sugar dry, the wine was transferred to neutral oak barriques, and left to go through malolactic fermentation and age on its lees for 10 months.

In July 2024, all the barrels of Merlot were racked to tank for bottling. This wine has spent an additional year aging in bottle before release. Indigenous yeast fermentation. 25 ppm SO2 added at bottling, no other additions, unfined and unfiltered. 110 cases produced.

Based in Sonoma, California, Rosalind Reynolds founded Emme Wines (named after her grandmother) in 2018 after years in the industry alongside the likes of Les Capriades, Martha Stoumen, and Pax (where she is also the assistant winemaker). Rosalind focuses on "old school" California varietals, like Carignan, Colombard, Merlot and Zinfandel, as well as uncommon grapes like Abouriou, Valdiguie and Muscat Vert, all farmed organically and sustainably, and she makes wine without additives and minimal intervention.