Baer Winery “Star” Merlot
WHY WE LOVE IT
- Sourced from Stillwater Creek Vineyard in the Royal Slope AVA, a high elevation certified sustainable grower.
- Erica Orr, the winemaker, achieves consistently high ratings on these wines. She holds high credentials from UC Davis and UC Berkeley and extensive hands-on experience in California.
Variety: 87% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc
Elaboration: Handpicked. Destemmed into 1-ton bins and inoculated with yeast. Punch downs for 10-14 days. Drained and pressed. Malolactic fermentation in oak. Racked off lees the summer following vintage. Racked to blend after 18 months in barrel, then bottled. Aged 21-22 months in 20% new French oak.
Tasting Notes: The nose is pie cherry, cranberry, cacao nibs with a subtle fresh floral note like orchard tree blossoms. In the mouth the wine is supple and mouthwatering. It’s unabashedly medium bodied.
PRESS
2017 – 92 James Suckling | 90 Vinous
2019 – 93 Wine Spectator | 93 Tim Fish | 93 Sean Sullivan | 92 Owen Bargreen
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
Winemaker Lance Baer founded Baer Winery in 2000 with a single passion—to bring something unique to Woodinville. After years of working with some of the most prestigious wineries in the area, Lance wanted to take his winemaking skills in his own direction. Lance succeeded in handcrafting blends distinctly his own, and in April 2003 the first vintage of the winery’s signature blend, Ursa, was released. Ursa, a feminine expression of red wine, predominantly Merlot and Cabernet Franc, was soon followed by Arctos, a bolder Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend.
As operations moved from an apartment in Redmond to a converted property on six rural acres in Woodinville, the winery was able to grow in production. Lance’s passion went from just 200 cases in 2003 to over 3,000 cases. In late 2007, Baer Winery moved into the popular warehouse wine complex near downtown Woodinville – a move which has allowed them to grow to producing approximately 3,500 cases per year, with a view to continuing to increase to 5,000.
Sadly, founder, son, brother and friend, Lance Baer, passed away in May of 2007, at the age of 39. But the Baer family, Lisa and Les, with the expertise of consulting winemaker Erica Orr, are continuing to produce the wines that Lance was devoted to creating, as well as continuing to evolve and add new blends to the winery’s line-up.