Winemaker Notes
-Wine Enthusiast
This wine is deep purple in color, almost opaque even in sunlight - the first indication that there is going to be "stuff" in the glass. At first the wine shows only its' smoke, earth and mineral notes. With air the wine reveals bing cherry, strawberry, plum, vanilla, cinnamon and clove. Sweet sage and marjoram further compliment this enticing Merlot.
Ripe fruit and sweet new oak intermingle to produce a supple, mouthfilling wine that is sure to compliment many a dinner (or lunch). This wine is very pleasant to drink now with modest tannins and admirable fruit concentration. The finish is all sweet fruit and a little dab of chocolate. It will continue to develop and improve over the next five years.
Professional Ratings
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 largest and perhaps most varied of California’s wine-growing regions, the Central Coast produces a good majority of the state's wine. This vast California wine district stretches from San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara along the coast, and reaches inland nearly all the way to the Central Valley.
Encompassing an extremely diverse array of climates, soil types and wine styles, it contains many smaller sub-AVAs, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
While the Central Coast California wine region could probably support almost any major grape varietiy, it is famous for a few Central Coast reds and whites. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are among the major ones. The Central Coast is home to many of the state's small, artisanal wineries crafting unique, high-quality wines, as well as larger producers also making exceptional wines.