Winemaker Notes
This Merlot shows Seven Hills Vineyard's characteristic aromas of cedar, silky black cherry fruit, baking spice and leather. Flavors of blueberry, blackberry and cocoa melt into a gripping, complex mid-palate followed by fine chalky tannins on an elegant, earthy mineral finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The blend includes 11% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Cabernet Franc, seamlessly integrated into a smooth and compelling whole. Cedary and silky, supple and substantial, this powerful wine lets the muscular Merlot dominate, while the Cabs bring in nuances of herb and the vineyard's minerality. Excellent length and aging potential.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2007 Merlot Seven Hills Estate has an expressive bouquet of toasty oak, cinnamon, clove, cassis, and black cherry. Dense and rich on the palate, this layered effort exhibits both power and elegance. Impeccably balanced, it will continue to blossom for several more years and provide a drinking window extending from 2011 to 2022.
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Wine Spectator
Firm and focused, dripping with gorgeous, ripe blackberry, plum, currant and herb flavors, nicely wrapped in refined tannins and hinting at cedar and white pepper as the finish lingers expressively. Best from 2012 through 2017.
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.
Responsible for some of Washington’s most highly acclaimed wines, the Walla Walla Valley has experienced a surge in popularity in recent years and is home to both historic wineries and younger, up-and-coming producers.
The Walla Walla Valley, a Native American name meaning “many waters,” is located in southeastern Washington; part of the appellation actually extends into Oregon. Soils here are well-drained, sandy loess over Missoula Flood deposits and fractured basalt.
It is a region perfectly suited to Rhône-inspired Syrahs, distinguished by savory notes of red berry, black olive, smoke and fresh earth. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot create a range of styles from smooth and supple to robust and well-structured. White varieties are rare but some producers blend Sauvignon Blanc with Sémillon, resulting in a rich and round style, and plantings of Viognier, while minimal, are often quite successful.
Of note within Walla Walla, is one new and very peculiar appellation, called the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater. This is the only AVA in the U.S. whose boundaries are totally defined by the soil type. Soils here look a bit like those in the acclaimed Rhône region of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but are large, ancient, basalt cobblestones. These stones work in the same way as they do in Chateauneuf, absorbing and then radiating the sun's heat up to enhance the ripening of grape clusters. The Rocks District is within the part of Walla Walla that spills over into Oregon and naturally excels in the production of Rhône varieties like Syrah, as well as the Bordeaux varieties.