Wölffer Estate Releases 2013 Lambardo Merlot
Wölffer Estate Vineyard celebrated the release of its newest wine, Lambardo Merlot, with a small luncheon with about 50 guests at the vineyard on Sunday. The wine is the fourth to be released as part of the White Horse 2013 collection.
According to Wölffer Estate’s winemaker Roman Roth, the summer months of 2013 provided the vineyard with ideal weather conditions, producing the best vintage Wölffer has ever had. Since Wölffer is near the ocean, the cool climate provides the vineyard with perfect weather to produce an elegant and ripe merlot.
The Lambardo Merlot in particular is strong and flavorful. Roth describes it as very fruity containing flavors from blackberry jam, licorice, toasted sandalwood and kirsch. The wine is finished off with coffee grind. Roth explains that the merlot pairs nicely with food.
“[The merlot] would go very well with beef and steak. Our red wines have a lovely acidity so they are versatile,” the winemaker says, noting that the Lambardo is a particularly elegant offering. “Our goal was to make a special wine to stand up to the rest of the world—we created a very powerful wine… this is a dream vintage,” Roth says.
The vineyard produced only 216 cases of the Lambardo Merlot, and it will sell just over 2,500 bottles of this fruity, hand-selected and hand-crafted wine. Sales have already been strong, and Roth expects it to move briskly throughout the summer.
Wölffer Estate Vineyard was founded in 1987 in Sagaponack by Christian Wölffer. The vineyard boasts 170 acres of land, including 55 acres of grapevines, where it grows grapes for chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and more. Additionally, the vineyard imports apples from Upstate New York to make rosé and white wine. Merlot was the first red wine the vineyard planted.
Wölffer plans to release three more wines for the White Horse collection. The next wine in the collection, Fatalis Fatum, will be released this Thursday, June 16.
Find the 2013 Lambardo Merlot and more at wolffer.com.