Merlot
17 items in Merlot
1991 Swanson California (750ml) |
$55.00
|
||||
1993 Arrowood Unfiltered California (750ml) |
$60.00
|
||||
| Robert Parker 89 | |||||
| This opaque purple-colored, unfiltered Merlot ( there is 16% Cabernet Franc in the blend ), offers up a sweet, chocolatety, rich, berry-scented nose, soft, medium-bodied flavors with a creamy texture, and tannin in the finish. The wine exhibts fine purity and an authentic Merlot varietal character. | |||||
1994 Beringer, Howell Mtn California (750ml) |
$56.00
|
||||
| Robert Parker 92 | |||||
| This is one of the most dazzling Merlots they have yet produced. While closed initially,the wine opens quickly in the glass. The dark ruby/purple color is followed by smoky, chocolatey, and black cherry aromas with new oak in the background. In the mouth, this wine is full-bodied, with explosive levels of glycerin and richness on the back of the palate. Dense, concentated, tannic, and angular, it is capable of lasting 15+ years. | |||||
1994 Beringer, Howell Mtn California (750ml) |
$103.00
|
||||
| Robert Parker 92 | |||||
| This is one of the most dazzling Merlots they have yet produced. While closed initially,the wine opens quickly in the glass. The dark ruby/purple color is followed by smoky, chocolatey, and black cherry aromas with new oak in the background. In the mouth, this wine is full-bodied, with explosive levels of glycerin and richness on the back of the palate. Dense, concentated, tannic, and angular, it is capable of lasting 15+ years. | |||||
1996 McCray Ridge California (750ml) |
$50.00
|
||||
| Wine Spectator | |||||
| Combines ripe, spicy cherry and wild berry flavors with supple, polished tannins and a sense of understated elegance and grace. Delicious enough to drink now or cellar through 2002. | |||||
1997 Leonetti Washington (750ml) |
$103.00
|
||||
| Wine Spectator 91 | |||||
| Dense in texture and distinctive in flavor, with floral, spicy, peppery notes swirling around the black cherry flavor at the core. | |||||
| Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar | |||||
| Bright ruby-red. Black cherry, licorice, smoke, herbs and spices on the nose, plus a slight medicinal quality. Juicy and intensely flavored, with sound supporting acidity; initially seemed rather hard and lacking in density but became silkier with aeration. Finishes firmly tannic and persistent. 88(+?) | |||||
| Robert Parker | |||||
| The purple/ruby-colored 1997 Merlot exhibits sweet red cherry and Asian spice aromas. A myriad of wood flavors are intermingled with jammy red cherries in this extroverted wine. Gary Figgins' trademark supple personality leads to an atypically firm and structured finish. | |||||
1997 Marilyn Merlot California (750ml) |
$98.00
|
||||
| Wine- Maker Notes | |||||
| The 1997 Marilyn Merlot is an exceptional bottle of wine. This rich Napa Valley Merlot is a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, creating an impression of fullness in the mouth with a nice balance of acids and tannins and a suggestion of oak. Aromas of ripe, plump blackberry complement the lovely, lingering fruit on the finish. | |||||
1997 Newton Unfiltered California (750ml) |
$55.00
|
||||
| Robert Parker 90 | |||||
| Lush, ripe, and fragrant, this forward Merlot should be accessible when released, and last for 12 or more years. | |||||
1998 Marilyn Merlot California (750ml) |
$98.00
|
||||
| Wine- Maker Notes | |||||
| This is the 14th vintage. It is a supple blend of 92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc grapes from the Napa Valley viticultural areas of Oakville, Rutherford and Yountville. Cinnamon and vanilla aromas from the oak compliment the milk chocolate and black cherry flavors of the fruit. | |||||
1998 McCray Ridge California (750ml) |
$49.00
|
||||
| FineWine International | |||||
| One of the best Merlots to emerge from California comes from this small vineyard high above Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma. We have sung the praises of this wine since its debut with the 1996 vintage. This year, fans of McCray Ridge Merlot will not be disappointed. In style, the 1998 vintage is more like the 1996 than the 1997. The color is a beautiful blueish-purple with deep scarlet highlights. The nose is rich and full with exotic notes of plum, blueberry, allspice, along with hints of licorice, smoke and olive. The flavors echo the nose and the finish is long and full. A wine with real grip. The only bad news is the size of the crop, only 370 cases, less than half of the 1997. | |||||
1998 McCray Ridge California (750ml) |
$49.00
|
||||
| FineWine International | |||||
| One of the best Merlots to emerge from California comes from this small vineyard high above Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma. We have sung the praises of this wine since its debut with the 1996 vintage. This year, fans of McCray Ridge Merlot will not be disappointed. In style, the 1998 vintage is more like the 1996 than the 1997. The color is a beautiful blueish-purple with deep scarlet highlights. The nose is rich and full with exotic notes of plum, blueberry, allspice, along with hints of licorice, smoke and olive. The flavors echo the nose and the finish is long and full. A wine with real grip. The only bad news is the size of the crop, only 370 cases, less than half of the 1997. | |||||
2000 Leonetti Washington (750ml) |
$147.00
|
||||
| Wine Spectator 92 | |||||
| Almost light in texture, remarkably supple and appealing for its chocolate-scented berry flavors, which pick up intensity on the ultrasmooth finish. More elegant and subtle that most previous vintages, although less powerful. | |||||
2000 Marilyn Merlot California (750ml) |
$98.00
|
||||
| Wine- Maker Notes | |||||
| The 2000 vintage Marilyn Merlot is a blend of 87% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. The addition of the two Cabernets gives the wine an increased floral fragrance and a more solid structure on the palate. Vanilla and milk chocolate aromas from French oak barrels nicely frame the ripe black cherry flavors of the fruit." | |||||
2001 Leonetti Washington (750ml) |
$61.00
|
||||
| Wine Spectator 92 | |||||
| Bright and generous. A lively mouthful of blackberry, currant and floral aromas and flavors, picking up a fresh-earth quality as the finish lingers. Shows less oak than earlier vintages and gorgeous fruit. | |||||
| Robert Parker 90 | |||||
| Cedar spices dominate the nose of the 2001 Merlot. A well-structured, medium-bodied wine, it offers loads of blackberry flavors in its broad, lengthy personality. | |||||
| Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar 90+ | |||||
| Bright ruby. Primary aromas of black raspberry, licorice and espresso complemented by sexy oak. Penetrating and intensely flavored, with a tight, sweet kernel of dark fruit flavor. Quite bright and shapely, but really needs another year or so in the bottle to show greater complexity. 90(+?) | |||||
2002 Barlow California (750ml) |
$39.00
|
||||
| FineWine International | |||||
| Winemaker Notes: Barlow Merlot has a deep, concentrated violet-purple color and aromas of rich raspberry, black plum and toasty French oak. A dense core of blueberry fruit complmented by expansive layers of black cherry and dark chocolate highlight the lush palate. | |||||
| Wine Enthusiast 91 | |||||
| Takes the usual formula of cherries, blackberries, cocoa and oak and kicks it up a notch. It has all that, but the extra layers of dusty Asian spices and a wonderful integration of oak with ripe tannins add interest. The bottom line is elegance. | |||||
2003 Blankiet Estate California (750ml) |
$163.00
|
||||
| Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar 93 | |||||
| Saturated ruby-red. Sour cherry, plum, menthol, mocha and smoked meat on the nose. Less fleshy than the young 2004 but still round, large-scaled and mouthfilling, with considerable complexity. Finishes quite long, with substantial dusty tannins and excellent grip. | |||||
| Robert Parker 96 | |||||
| The 2003 Merlot is better out of bottle than it was from cask. An explosively rich wine that ranks among the finest Merlots I have tasted from California in the last decade, it boasts an incredibly perfumed nose of espresso roast, mocha-infused chocolate, blackberry, cassis, cherry liqueur, and smoke. With an enormous texture, fabulous concentration, a packed-and-stacked mid-palate, and an explosive intense, ripe, long finish, this stunning wine is extraordinarily complex and savory. Anticipated maturity: now-2020. | |||||
2004 Blankiet Estate California (750ml) |
$170.00
|
||||
| Robert Parker 94 | |||||
| "The 2004 Merlot Paradise Hills Vineyard (1,100 cases) includes a dollop of Cabernet Franc in the blend. It exhibits gorgeous notes of chocolate, espresso, plums, blackberries, and cherries. Full-bodied with terrific intensity and opulence, it makes a dramatic statement about how great Napa Merlot can be. It should drink beautifully for 15 or more years." | |||||
| Wine Enthusiast 95 | |||||
| This is a stunning Merlot, impossibly rich. Saturated and opaque in color, it tastes fat and flashy, with masses of cherry and blackberry jam, anise, chocolate and Provencial herb flavors. Yet this opulently soft wine has a classic structure, backed up with firm tannins. This is profound Merlot. Steve Himoff | |||||