Winemaker Notes
The 2019 Merus opens with deep aromas of cassis and blackberry, with layers of vanilla bean, cedar, graphite and a subtle minerality. Full bodied on the palate with plush, velvety tannins and signature flavors of saturated black fruits. A fine grain oak texture lingers on the smooth finish. A wine of great structure and power, it will continue to develop further complexity with bottle age and show best over the next 15-25 years.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A killer bottle of Napa Valley magic, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon from Merus is 97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot. It’s a powerful, full-bodied, uber-ripe beauty that stays lively and balanced, with beautiful blue fruits, as well as smoked tobacco, chocolate, and scored earth-like aromas and flavors. A beast of a wine with a great mid-palate and velvety tannins, it should shed its considerable baby fat over the coming 4-6 years and have two decades of overall longevity.
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Decanter
Winemaker Eric Baugher sourced most of the Cabernet Sauvignon for this vintage from Coombsville. Aged for 24 months in 100% new French oak. High-toned aromas of raspberry liqueur, caramel, pastis and blueberry. The palate is packed with juicy blackberry, blueberry preserves, sweet cedar, fig and mocha. Palate-etching tannins are framed by a firm backbone of acidity bringing everything nicely into balance.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Still tight and unevolved, Merus's 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon wraps blueberry and cassis fruit in a sheath of 100% new French oak. Sourced primarily from Coombsville (but labeled as Napa Valley), it's full-bodied and concentrated, firmly structured enough to suggest cellaring for at least a few years, with a dusting of fine-grained tannins lingering on the long finish. Despite a labeled alcohol of 15.8%, it doesn't come across as hot or unbalanced, a remarkable achievement.
Rating: 94+ -
Wine Spectator
Ripe, fresh and very direct, with a mix of red and black currant preserves laced with violet, roasted alder and licorice and backed by a subtle earthy note through the finish. On the toasted side, but has ample fruit for balance. Best from 2023 through 2036.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Situated in the southeastern corner of Napa Valley in the Vaca range, the vineyards of the Coombsville AVA enjoy a long growing season mitigated by cool, San Pablo Bay fog.