2016 Merlot Premier

David “Merf” Merfield, who earlier in his winemaking career "liked to let the fruit hang, "described 2016 as Northstar’s longest harvest on record, stretching from August 15 through November 15. “It was a consistently warm vintage but we had to hold off a while after a few rainy periods in October." But it cooled off during October, which "allowed us to bring in fruit over several weeks without having huge increases in sugars." Merfield, who became head winemaker for Northstar in 2006 (the winery's first year was 2002 and it began as a Merlot specialist), told me he has backed off on new oak and that nowadays he’s “picking more on acids” to make better-balanced and more ageworthy wines. As a result, he added, he’s able to use less SO2 and his wines are more stable.