Perched to seize the day as Oak Knoll's foremost Merlot is Blackbird Vineyards, located in the heart of the district. Since 1999, this former walnut orchard, first planted with 5717 vines two years earlier, has quietly provided fruit to many of Napa's finest winemakers, for whom it has yielded astonishing reviews and stellar scorings. Purchased by entrepreneur Michael Polenske in 2003, Blackbird Vineyards is now an ultra premium label in its own right. (Fittingly, 'Merlot' is French patois for 'Little Blackbird.')
An early harbinger of Blackbird's potential arose when a notable winemaker created a Blackbird vineyard designated wine for the highly acclaimed 1999 vintage (no less than 95% of the fruit in the bottle must be from the named vineyard). Three of the top critics in the industry- Robert Parker, Steven Tanzer, and Wine Spectator's James Laube- scored this wine in the 90's.
Blackbird Vineyard is comprised of Haire-Combs soil; predominantly the Haire type of soil. It holds proper soil moisture down deep and is available to the vines and allows Blackbird to be virtually dry-farmed.
