Page 19 - PROFILE COLLECTION

WINEMAKING
Our Profile proprietary red blend showcases the very best fruit from each harvest, sourced exclusively from our gorgeous hillside estate vineyard located east of St. Helena. Overlooking the Napa Valley, the Profile Estate Vineyard lies on an eastern ridge at almost one thousand feet of elevation. Planted in 1997 by David Abreu, Michel Rolland and then winemaker
Bob Levy, the 25-acre vineyard is comprised of four different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, along with two acres of Petit Verdot and one acre of Cabernet Franc. The steep slopes, rocky soils and volcanic ash bedrock make it a very challenging site to farm, yet this vineyard consistently delivers grapes that stand out for their plush fruit character, complexity and silky tannin.
The grapes were hand harvested at night in order to retain freshness and get the fruit in the cellar as cool as possible. The wine was vinified with classic Bordeaux techniques. Wild yeast fermentation began after five days of cold soak and reached peak temperature of 90°F. After 15 days of maceration, the wines were drained directly to barrel to complete spontaneous malolactic fermentation. We aged the wine for 23 months in 80% new French oak barrels from the center of France. The wine was bottled without fining or filtration.
VINTAGE
Early articles about the 2017 vintage describe the wines using words
such as “finesse,” “great complexity of flavor” and “elegant.” Overall, winemakers are optimistic about the vintage quality, despite lower than average yields. The year began with abundant rainfall. Spring weather
was mild, and the vines were vigorous thanks to the winter rains. Warm weather over Labor Day weekend kicked harvest into high gear, but cooler weather arrived immediately afterward allowing sugar levels to return
to normal. Most late-ripening red grapes were picked over the next few weeks. We completed harvest for this wine on September 18th, well before the wine country wildfires started.
SENSORY IMPRESSIONS
Blended from 17 blocks spanning four ridges of volcanic Conn Valley hillsides, our estate grown Profile Red Wine is consistently one of the finest wines produced in the Napa Valley, and the 2017 vintage is no exception. Elegant and powerful, structured and soft, the wine defies typical categorization as it exhibits the best characteristics of the Profile Estate Vineyard—savory aromatics, dark fruit, evolving flavors, plush mouthfeel, bright acidity, and a long, world class finish. While bright
and powerful at release, the wine will continue to mature for the next 30 years and will be tremendously enjoyable throughout its evolution.
2017 PROFILE NAPA VALLEY RED WINE
MERRYVALE FAMILY OF WINES · 707.963.2225 · 1000 MAIN STREET, SAINT HELENA, CA 94574 · PROFILE-COLLECTION.COM