Merlot

Fact sheet

Type

Red

Grape

Merlot

Country

United States

Region

Napa Valley · Napa

Appellation

Napa Valley, California, US

Body

full

Acidity

medium

Tannin

high

Sweetness

dry

Rated vintages

• 201489 pts

  Waxy plum is given ample richness from a taste of milk chocolate in this luxuriously full-bodied voluptuous wine. Big lush tannins are met by a smoky backdrop of robust oak and a spicy hit of clove on the finish.

• 201393 pts

  This 100% varietal wine hails entirely from Hyde Vineyard, a meticulously farmed and magical site. With a rich nose leading the way, it shows dusty licorice and chocolate plum. Voluptuously well crafted, it finishes in a lengthy tinge of baking spice.

• 201290 pts

  Made from several high-class sites, including Hyde Vineyard and Beckstoffer's Carneros Lake/Las Amigas Vineyard, this is a cooler-climate, 100% varietal wine. Juicy in crisp red fruit, it also has elements of pencil lead and cedar, giving an edginess of savory complexity that's…

• 201188 pts

  From the mountainous terrain of Stagecoach Vineyard, this wild, concentrated wine is more like Cabernet in many ways. Red licorice, bitter tannin and whiffs of leather saddle commingle against brambly blackberry and clove, finishing with a tease of coconut.

• 201089 pts

  Hard as nails in tannins, with mouth-numbing astringency. But the powerful fruit explodes right through, offering an array of blackberry jam, dark chocolate, raisin and anise flavors. Try cellaring it until at least 2019.

• 200991 pts

  A lovely Merlot, this is pure, vibrant and elegant. It has classic cherry, red-currant and cedar flavors, and while there's a sweetness at the core, the finish is thoroughly dry. Wonderful to drink now with steak or lamb.

• 200394 pts

  Those notorious mountain tannins have largely melted, making the wine drinkable now, although it will hold for a decade with proper cellaring. Lush and velvety, with a drop of Cabernet Franc, this is voluptuous in cherries, black currants and fine, toasty oak.