Blazon Merlot 2021
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Concentrated dark fruit aromas greet the nose with rich flavors of blackberry and raspberry. A perceived sweetness and velvety mouthfeel complement the toasted oak and baking spice.
Blend: 84% Merlot, 10% Petite Sirah, 6% Petit Verdot
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Blazon, an Oak Ridge Winery label, means to display prominently or vividly, and this wine proudly showcases the symbiotic nature of wine and oak. Storing, aging and transferring wine in oak barrels imparts both flavors from the wood, as well as improved body and structure. This process inversely affects the barrel; adding the beauty and color of a wine-stained belt. The barrel acts as the vessel and the wine the passenger, both forever changed by their months long journey together. The Blazon line of wines aim to pair bold Lodi fruit with the perfect complement in a barrel, resulting in wines that are incredibly aromatic and fruit forward, with imparted flavors that span from vanilla to spice.
With generous fruit and supple tannins, Merlot is made in a range of styles from everyday-drinking to world-renowned and age-worthy. Merlot is the dominant variety in the wines from Bordeaux’s Right Bank regions of St. Emilion and Pomerol, where it is often blended with Cabernet Franc to spectacular result. Merlot also frequently shines on its own, particularly in California’s Napa Valley. Somm Secret—As much as Miles derided the variety in the 2004 film, Sideways, his prized 1961 Château Cheval Blanc is actually a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
Positioned between the San Francisco Bay and the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the Lodi appellation, while relatively far inland, is able to maintain a classic Mediterranean climate featuring warm, sunny days and cool evenings. This is because the appellation is uniquely situated at the end of the Sacramento River Delta, which brings chilly, afternoon “delta breezes” to the area during the growing season.
Lodi is a premier source of 100+ year old ancient Zinfandel vineyards—some dating back as far as 1888! With low yields of small berries, these heritage vines produce complex and bold wines, concentrated in rich and voluptuous, dark fruit.
But Lodi doesn’t just produce Zinfandel; in fact, the appellation produces high quality wines from over 100 different grape varieties. Among them are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc as well as some of California's more rare and unique grapes. Lodi is recognized as an ideal spot for growing Spanish varieties like Albarino and Tempranillo, Portugese varieties—namely Touriga Nacional—as well as many German, Italian and French varieties.
Soil types vary widely among Lodi’s seven sub-appellations (Cosumnes River, Alta Mesa, Deer Creek Hills, Borden Ranch, Jahant, Clements Hills and Mokelumne River). The eastern hills are clay-based and rocky and in the west, along the Mokelumne and Cosumnes Rivers, sandy and mineral-heavy soils support the majority of Lodi’s century-old own-rooted Zinfandel vineyards. Unique to Lodi are pink Rocklin-Jahant loam soils, mainly found in the Jahant sub-appellation.