Shafer Napa Valley Merlot (375ML half-bottle) 2010

The 2010 gives everything a Merlot should and more – lively, enticing red fruit with a core of deep, lush black fruit – red cherry and black cheery, red plum and black plum, spice and berry with hints of earth and smoke. This plush package is held together in a structure of fine, ripe tannins.

Flatter Merlot's fruit by adding a similar element of fruit to poultry, pork and meat dishes (duck breast with dried cherry-Merlot sauce, roast chicken with cranberry-wild rice stuffing). Carmelized onions, roasted garlic and mushrooms are pleasant companions.

Blend: 84% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Malbec