Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Hmm. Dry-farmed merlot in Napa Valley? John Williams and his team at Frog’s Leap grow some of the freshest, prettiest merlot in a region where the variety is mostly irrigated and taken to extremes of richness. They focus this wine on fruit from their estate vineyard surrounding the winery on the east side of Rutherford, where the cool clay soils near the Napa River provide shelter for the vine roots while the heat of the day ripens the fruit. One taste of this wine may have you wondering why more growers don’t follow their lead. I don’t think I’ve ever written “sing-song merlot” to describe the variety in Napa Valley, but there it is in my notes on this red-fruited wine, a mouthwatering depiction of red plums, savory chewing tobacco and light, brisk, gentle tannins. Best Buy
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: One of my pet peeves with Merlots in the marketplace is that they often seem more like Cabernet Sauvignons. Many wineries seem to be determined to produce a thick, yet soft red wine that is rich and powerful. Fortunately, Frog's Leap stays true to the grape variety. The 2016 vintage, following its history from previous years, is ripe, yet soft and elegant, and the wine finishes crisp and bright. TASTING NOTES: This is an authentic Merlot. Its bright aromas and delightful flavors of red fruits and minerality should pair it well with an oven-roasted chicken. (Tasted: January 18, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
With generous fruit and supple tannins, Merlot is made in a range of styles from everyday-drinking to world-renowned and age-worthy. Merlot is the dominant variety in the wines from Bordeaux’s Right Bank regions of St. Emilion and Pomerol, where it is often blended with Cabernet Franc to spectacular result. Merlot also frequently shines on its own, particularly in California’s Napa Valley. Somm Secret—As much as Miles derided the variety in the 2004 film, Sideways, his prized 1961 Château Cheval Blanc is actually a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
The Rutherford sub-region of Napa Valley centers on the town of Rutherford and covers some of Napa Valley’s finest vineyard real estate, spanning from the Mayacamas in the west, to the Vaca Mountains on the other side of the valley.
Inside of the Rutherford AVA, bordering the Mayacamas, is a stretch of uplands called the Rutherford Bench. (These bench lands technically run the length of Oakville as well). Mountain runoff creates deep, well-drained, alluvial soils on the bench, giving vine roots plenty of reason to permeate deep into the ground. The result is wine with great structure and complexity.
Rutherford Cabernet Sauvingons and Bordeaux Blends garner substantial attention for their enticing fragrances of dusty earth and dried herbs, broad and juicy mid-palates and lush and fine-grained tannins. The sub-appellation claims some of the valley’s most prized vineyards today, namely Caymus, Rubicon and Beckstoffer Georges III.
It is also home to Napa’s most influential and historic personalities. Thomas Rutherford, responsible for the appellation's name, made serious investments here in grape growing and wine production between the years of 1850 to 1880. Gustave Niebaum purchased a large swath of land and completed his winery in 1887, calling it “Inglenook.” Today this remains the oldest bonded winery in California. Georges Latour founded Beaulieu Vineyard in 1900, making it the oldest continuous winery in the state. Latour also hired the famous enologist, André Tchelistcheff, a man credited for single-handedly defining the modern Napa winemaking style.