A Port styled wine made from a blend but mostly Merlot. Purple in color. The nose has cherry liqueur, chocolate and slight raisin. Full bodied. Slightly sweet. Raisins, chocolate and cherries. Relatively simple and not a lot of depth. Worked well as a desert wine and would match a more savory dessert.
Merlot gets a lot of mockery (See Sideways), but a well made Merlot is truly special and this is one of the best on the planet. Now, 2011 was one of the weaker vintages in Napa, but the late Lou Kapcsandy tailors the plants to adjust for the vintages and the State Lane Vineyard is truly Grand Cru. The result is another outstanding wine. It also have 5% Cabernet Franc blended in. if anything, the vintage is a bit more accessible at a younger age than most. Purple in color with some ruby hues, opaque and bright. Gorgeous nose. Black cherries, mocha, spice and slight coffee. Full bodie
This is one of the best Merlot's made anywhere. Period. The attention to detail and the quality of fruit is amazing. Certainly some vintages are better than others, but it is always phenomenal. There is 5% Cabernet Franc in the blend. Deep ruby/purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright. A wonderful nose of black cherries, plums, slight kirsch, slight dark chocolate, and minerals. Full bodied with a lush texture. Flavors of sour cherries, black raspberries and plums intertwined with minerality, dark chocolate and slight spice. Light tannins. Lots of verve, it dances on the tong
This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cab Franc. Just a gorgeous wine that while still youthful, is showing some maturity. We drank this pop and pour but I would recommend a lot more air or decant. Purple in color. The nose is great with cassis, black cherries, tobacco, slight leather, and spice. Wonderful rich texture. Great balance. Medium tannins. Plenty of fruit; cassis and black cherries layered with earth and tobacco. Long finish. This wine has a nice complexity that shows itself as it unwinds in the glass. Its delicious but more than just that. While it shows
Perhaps the best Merlot made in America. This is drinking great right now, at or near peak. Purple in color, thin ruby line at the rim. The nose is great with coffee, cherries, black cherries, and spice. On the palate, this has a wonderful texture. Rich and luxurious. Slight tannins. Black cherry fruit. Long finish. This is deep and voluptuous with lots of complexity. This should be here for a while (ten years?) and still last another decade after that.
My first time trying this wine. Very nice. A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Petite Sirah and the rest Merlot and Petit Verdot. Purple in color, ruby at the rim. The nose has black cherries, black raspberries, char and spice. On the palate, the black cherries dominate. There is some green bell pepper (in a good way) that is very traditional. Some underlying roasted meats. This already has a tight complexity that unwinds in the glass. Nice finish. This probably needs another five to seven to peak and should be good for ten to twelve more after that. it is food friendly and wi
