Winemaker Notes
This elegant Merlot reveals aromas of dark fruit, tobacco leaf, cedar and clove. It’s rich texture is elevated by dense flavors of black cherry and espresso on a complex earth finish.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
A stunning merlot that proves what this grape is capable of in Washington State! Ravishing blueberry nose with delicate, minty freshness, then a medium-to full-bodied palate, on which velvety tannins are married to bright acidity and minerality that drives the long, pure finish
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Slightly more expensive, the 2016 Merlot Walla Walla Valley is all estate fruit and made from 76% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, brought up in 40% new oak. Its deep ruby/purple color is followed by notes of cassis, leafy herbs, damp earth, and graphite. Balanced, medium to full-bodied, seamless, and beautifully put together, it's a terrific, high-class Merlot to drink over the coming 7-8 years as well.
-
Wine & Spirits
Leading with textbook Walla Walla tobacco-tin scents, this wine has a bright core of cherry and plum flavor—a hallmark of Seven Hills vineyard, where half of this fruit was sourced; the other half came from Ferguson, which may account for the wine’s firm tannins. It has the stuffing to lay down; or decant it now for steak.
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.