Winemaker Notes
- Wine Spectator
79% Merlot; 21% Cabernet Sauvignon. Power and finesse come to mind when tasting this wine. Big structure with smooth tannins and beautiful oak flavors in the finish. Ripe plum and concentrated dark ripe fruit such as raspberry, blackberry and cherry explode in the mouth.
Building on Washington state's penchant for Merlots with rich, supple texture, depth and structure, Northstar produced its first wine in 1994. Ours is an on-going exploration of Washington's star grape variety. Quantities are extremely limited, but if you love Merlot, we think you'll find this wine worth seeking.
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Northstar, located in Walla Walla, Washington, aims to make Merlots that can be considered among the world's best, using fruit sourced from one of the world's best regions for the variety: Washington state. Winemaker, David "Merf" Merfeld, blends New World fruit with an old world winemaking style, influenced by Bordeaux's "right bank," to create his highly-acclaimed wines. Northstar produces two Merlot-based wines from the Columbia Valley and Walla Walla AVAs, as well as the Stella Maris red blend and extremely limited production bottlings of the blending component varieties that Merf uses as his "spice box" in creating Northstar's Merlots.