CABERNET-FRANC / MERLOT RESERVE 2012

Terroir and Viticulture:

This wine is grown on our two vineyards planted to Pinot Noir, situated in the
Lincoln Lakeshore sub-appellation in Beamsville, and on the Twenty-Mile
Bench sub-appellation in Jordan. It expresses both the exuberant fruit of our
younger vines in Beamsville, seductively married with the nuance and fine
minerality of our older-vine Bench site in Jordan.
Each vineyard is cared for by hand, from pruning to hand-harvesting, and the
vines are grown organically. No synthetic herbicides or insecticides are ever
used.

Vintage:
Late winter and spring 2012 were warmer and drier than normal, and the crop
was already maturing ahead of schedule by the end of June. The weather
continued to be hot and dry throughout the summer. The 2012 vintage has
already showed itself to be a great one which, through a combination of
vineyard management and attention to detail, has enabled us to make slightly
richer yet still-classic wines from perfectly-ripe grapes.

Vinification:
After a short cold maceration, the naturally-occurring indigenous yeast from
the vineyard, make the most complete, textured, complex wines.
After the fermentation, we leave the young wine On the skins for several
days/weeks to allow the wine to naturally go through malolactic fermentation.
The wine is patiently aged in French oak barrels (about 1/3 of which are new,
2/3 used barrels) for 16 to 20 months. After bottling, the wines are aged a
further 6-12 months.

Tasting notes:
A Single-Vineyard from our Estate vineyard in the Lincoln Lakeshore VQA sub-
appellation in Beamsville. The Cabernet Franc is all about finesse: perfectly ripe
and perfumed, yet still it dances on the palate, adding yet another feminine
layer of complexity, while the Merlot brings the blend its masculine side:
intense, plummy, brooding, rich fruit and darker tannins.