Winemaker Notes
Blend: 76% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2021 Merlot is a pretty serious wine. Swaths of tannin wrap around a core of dark fruit, graphite, lavender, mocha and spice. Time in the glass brings out lifted, floral top notes that lend brightness. The characteristics of a year with small berries come through in the wine's flavor and tannin intensity. For the last few years, the Merlot has included a fairly large amount of Cabernet Franc, and that is quite evident here. Since 2020, the Merlot has been made just with estate fruit. The 2021 is a gorgeous wine, but I would not dream of touching a bottle anytime soon.
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Wine Spectator
Precise and polished, with a well-framed core of lively acidity and well-buffed tannins that supports rich red currant, coffee bean and savory anise tones.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming all from the estate on Mt. Veeder, the 2021 Merlot sports a deep ruby, almost opaque hue to go with a sweet nose of ripe red and black fruits (plums, black cherries), darker tobacco, leather, and roasted herbs. With medium to full-bodied richness, a round, sweetly fruited, powerful mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and terrific overall balance, it's an outstanding.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Enchanting aromas of red and black cherries lead the way on the nose of the 2021 Merlot, joined by gentle herbal notes reminiscent of thyme, sage and mint. A blend of 76% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Franc, matured in larger and/or older oak vessels for aging, it's a medium to full-bodied, silky wine, nicely balanced and ready to drink now but with enough stuffing to think it will age nicely for a decade or more. Rating: 92+
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.
Centered at the peak for which it is named, Mount Veeder is Napa’s largest sub-AVA. But even though the entire appellation spreads over 16,000 acres, vineyards cover a mere 1,000. Scattered among Douglas firs and bristlecone pines, Mount Veeder vineyards extend south from the upper elevations of the Mayacamas Mountains—the highest point at 2,400 feet—to the border of the Carneros region. Less than 25 wineries produce wine from Mount Veeder fruit.
Winemaking began early in this appellation. In 1864, Captain Stelham Wing presented the first Mount Veeder wine to the Napa County Fair; it came from today’s Wing Canyon Vineyard. Prohibition, of course, halted winemaking and viticulture wasn’t revitalized until the founding of Mayacamas Vineyards in 1951 and Bernstein Vineyards in 1964.
The Bernstein Vineyards was actually home to the first Petit Verdot in California, planted in 1975. Today most of the Petit Verdot in Napa Valley originates from this vineyard.
Rocky volcanic clay and ancient seabed matter dominate Mount Veeder soils—perfect for Bordeaux varieties. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot enjoy spectacular success. These varieties produce wines rich in brambly blackberry and black cherry fruit with herbal and floral aromatics. Structures are moderate to assertive and wines have great staying power.
Chardonnay from Mount Veeder is lush, full and balanced mineral and fresh citrus flavors.