The 2016 Matthews Merlot comes from several small vineyard parcels within three AVAs: Red Mountain, Walla Walla, and the Columbia Valley. Harvested by hand in the early mornings September through October 20th, it was then hand-sorted and fermented in the winery using both concrete (91%) and stainless steel (9%). The free-run wine was cellared in French oak (50% new) for 21 months. Evaluated over 40 times by our winemaking team, only 272 cases were ultimately selected and bottled.