Winemaker Notes
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.
Producing some of Tuscany’s best white wines based on its own variety called Vernaccia, San Gimignano is a small appellation to the west of Chianti centered around the romantic village of the same name. Vernaccia produces a fruity and floral white with plenty of verve on the palate and often a fresh note of raw almond.