2016 Equinoxe Merlot
Winemaking Notes
Équinoxe: equal day, equal night. Equal heat of the day, equal cool of the night. Equal old world, equal new world.
Equinoxe Merlot is a single vineyard wine sourced from a specific block of 20+-year-old vines on the mid-slopes of the south end of the Golden Mile. Since 2008 (the first vintage of this wine) the wines resulting from this special vineyard show great flavour intensity and very firm tannins, regardless of the vintage. Morning sun and afternoon shade allow the grapes to retain acidity that is harmonious and keeps the wine from being flat or overbearing. The nose dances with a myriad of nuances and flavours and the palate highlight plum and blackberry with a long finish of cedar and mocha. This is a truly impressive wine. The sheer high quality of the fruit and style of winemaking creates a wine that will age gracefully for 10+ years.
Pairing
Don’t be afraid of pairing this wine with the richest of the dishes.
Meat-Based
Intensely flavored marinades with your choice of steak would be a great accompaniment. Rosemary and Garlic-Rubbed Rack of lamb is a favorite.
Plant-Based
Marinated Tofu steak with vegan BBQ Sauce or Vegetable Meatballs with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce are delicious with this wine.
Technical Details
| Region: | Golden Mile |
| Soil Type: | Alluvial Fan; Silt, clay and angular large gravels |
| Age of Vines: | 24 years old |
| Yield: | Average of 3.6 tons/acre |
| Production: | 275 cases |
| Alcohol: | 14.50% |
| Aging: | 19 Months in French Oak, 18% New |
Accolades
94 Points
Équinoxe is a concept, of that we are certain and in any given vintage la façon de penser that is Le Vieux Pin's Reserve line will give itself up for a grape variety of promise, or in a vintage like 2016, to several worthy of holding the flame. If winemaker Severine Pinte intuits the prospect for balance, above all else, then another Èquinoxe baton is passed. This merlot joins the likes of cabernet franc from a vineyard known as La Feuille d'Or, "the golden leaf," situated on the Golden Mile Bench. The gravels and cobbles suit these Right Bank-styled wines so well, equipping them with a natural, elemental, metalliferous and matter of fact base from which to develop. If time is permitted (and LVP has graced us this possibility) then all the building blocks will melt, render and morph like pulverized particles through a silken merlot of ductile texture. This glass is just that and the fruit holds taut against the musculature of structure. Opposing forces cooperate, unite and become one. Equal day, equal night. Equal old world, equal new world. Either spring or fall. Uguaglianza, égalité, equality. Drink 2022-2027. Tasted January 2021.
