Winemaker Notes
As one of a handful of pioneer producers of Merlot, dating back to 1976, our Merlot remains as consistent and memorable as it was back then. Even 40 years after our first vintage, the 2016 vintage is a classic representation of Rhinefarm Merlot. Stunning aromas of black cherries, cedar and fresh tobacco come to life on the palate, alongside flavors of cocoa, brown spices and boysenberry. Graceful yet complex, this is a Merlot even Paul Giamatti would enjoy.
Blend: 82% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon
Certified SustainableProfessional Ratings
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James Suckling
Ripe plums, dark berries and earthy elements on the nose. This offers a bright structure with deep flavors, carried amid fine tannins. Good depth and richness.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Leading off the Bordeaux varieties, the 2016 Merlot (82% Merlot, 9% Petite Verdot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon) has a great nose of smoke tobacco, ripe black cherries, currants, and chocolate. It's ripe, medium to full-bodied, has a fleshy, pleasure-bent style, and ripe tannins. It's another value gem in the vintage.
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.
Perhaps the most historically significant appellation in Sonoma County, the Sonoma Valley is home to both Buena Vista winery, California's oldest commercial winery, and Gundlach Bundschu winery, California's oldest family-run winery.
It is also one of the more geologically and climactically diverse districts. The valley includes and overlaps four distinct Sonoma County sub-appellations, including Carneros, Moon Mountain District, Sonoma Mountain and Bennett Valley. With mountains, benchlands, plains, abundant sunshine and the cooling effects of the nearby Pacific, this appellation can successfully produce a wide range of grape varieties. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, and most notably, Zinfandel all thrive here. Ancient Zinfandel vines over 100 years old produce small crops of concentrated, spicy fruit, which in turn make some of the Valley's most unique wines. These can also be made as “field blends” (wines made from a mix of grape varieties grown in the same vineyard) along with Petite Sirah, Carignan and Alicante Bouschet.