Merlot

This is a reasonably priced rose from Bordeaux made from Merlot grapes.  Very pale pink in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, slight strawberries and cranberries with a bit of grapefruit.  Light bodied but with a nice texture.  12.5% abv.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is easy drinking on its own and will work nicely with cheese or fried foods/appetizers.  A nice wine to sip on the back patio.  Drink now.  

2024 marks the 20th vintage for Spottswoode’s Lyndenhurst label. The original goal is still the same: use all five Bordeaux varietals and pull fruit from the estate as well as other exceptional Napa vineyards, all of which are organically grown. In doing so this wine allows for, “a broader expression of Napa Valley, while applying the same philosophy that shapes our Estate Cabernet,” says winemaker Aron Weinkauf.

Chappellet has been growing Cabernet Franc for 35 years, planted at a time when Franc was merely considered a blending grape. Comprised of 78% Cabernet Franc (there are small amounts of four other grapes), Chappellet had a made bold choice to produce a stand-alone wine from this grape. Sure, Franc has been made in the U.S. as a stand-alone, and the Loire Valley is ripe with iterations of Franc - most notably in Chinon and St. Dennis. But Franc in California and Franc in France are quite different. That difference aside, Chappellet does an admirable job crafting a very enjoyable wine.

This is a blend of 50% Merlot, and 50% Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso from northeast Italy.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is powerful (and nice) with black cherries, black raspberries, tobacco, and spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Great acidity.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Plenty of structure but still accessible.  Flavors of black raspberries, black cherries with tobacco, spice and char.  Long finish.

This is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon from northeast Italy.  Purple in color with some ruby hues.  The nose is nice with black cherries, some cherries, tobacco, slight dark chocolate and spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this has some depth and complexity.  Young, of course, but drinking well.  Flavors of black cherries with some forest floor, spice and char.  Nice finish.  This should drink well for the next eight to twelve years.  This would be a nice wine to pair with Fried Chicken and of course, pasta.  A very nice value in red wine.  

Whitehall Lane Winery has a focus on red wines, more Cabernet driven wines. This 2019 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Zinfandel offers notes of blackberry, blueberry, black cherry, boysenberry, and huckleberry. The fruit is fully structured by moderate to mature tannins, the use of judicious oak, and a mild acidity. There are back notes of vanilla, sandalwood, and light campfire. This is definitely a food friendly red wine to pair with a various dishes, but it’s also a wine that makes you remember how good Napa wines can be when they’re treated with restraint.

Since the early 1990s, Paraduxx has created blended red wine to show off the Napa Valley. A bit larger and more macerated than previous vintages, it is still nonetheless an enjoyable, solid wine. The tannins are a little more aggressive here with the fruit being both expressive but still subdued. The more noticeable element is the oak; an 18-month program of both French and Hungarian, with 40% of the barrels being brand new. The composition is 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, then diminishing proportions of Zinfandel, Malbec, Merlot, Syrah and Petit Sirah, in that order.

It’s not that Malbec is a forgotten grape, it’s that it doesn’t get the love it deserves, and too often wineries seem to want it to taste like Cabernet. Enter Whitehall Lane, who makes this impressive Malbec that you will love - a Malbec that tastes like a Malbec should. The fruit is supported by a tannic structure that provides an earthiness and rusticity to it. Blackberry brambleberry, huckleberry and boysenberry all work together to create a rich wine that’s not over the top but not subdued either. The mid-palate reveals the wines’ acidity with notes of sandalwood and cocoa powder.