AMERICAN WINE

Vivid ruby in color, cherry, cassis, and succulent herbs on the fragrant nose are joined by a slowly building tobacco nuance. Plush and supple in texture, showing good depth to the lively bitter cherry and black currant flavors. A smoky note appears on the finish, which features velvety tannins and lingering dark berry character.

A blend of 50% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, and 15% Petit Verdot.

ANTONIO GALLONI 93 POINTS - "The 2017 Merlot Cuvee 37.2 has really turned out beautifully. Racy and opulent to the core, with terrific persistence, the Merlot has so much to offer. Black cherry, plum, chocolate, mocha and licorice all build in a super-expressive, inviting wine that will drink well right out of the gate. The blend is based on a core of Merlot from Kenefick Ranch and Cabernet Franc from Rutherford."

Not to take away from any of the other wines, but this is the wine that really stood out for several of us. And why not? They’ve been at the forefront of Merlot for decades! Ruby/garnet in color, this is a luscious and forward Merlot with a touch of Cabernet blended in, displaying aromas and flavors of black cherry, loganberry, blueberry, plum and cinnamon spice. A knockout for the price, the wine finishes with velvety tannins, excellent purity, and a lip-smacking finish!

Continuing the legacy of the Wagner Family's other profound wine ventures such as Caymus, Belle Glos, and Conundrum, Jenny Wagner takes the reins of Emmolo Winery and is making a hit with these new releases! Her family has a long-standing history in Napa Valley beginning with her great-grandfather, Italian immigrant, Salvatore Emmolo, who planted grapevines and started a grapevine rootstock nursery in Rutherford in the 1920's. His son, and Jenny's grandfather, Frank Emmolo, ran Emmolo Nursery and built a strong following amongst Napa Valley grapegrowers - becoming the leading supplier to Napa Valley vintners for five decades.

Jenny Wagner sourced grapes for this vintage from the Emmolo Oak Knoll vineyard located near the city of Napa in a sub-appellation called Oak Knoll. It's ten miles nearer the San Francisco Bay than Rutherford and has a cooler microclimate. The site was strategically chosen for its soils and moderate climate, which are appropriate for growing Merlot. Merlot flourishes at this site thanks to the cooler weather - a mild climate allows the berries to hang on the vine longer, letting them fully mature. Crop thinning is essential to balance the vines with a low yield of rich, concentrated fruit that's dark in color and has chalky tannins and ripe flavors. This wine is very much an expression of the well-drained, low vigor soil that is light in color in the Oak Knoll appellation.

The Parcel 41 Merlot shines ruby red in the glass, with shimmering purple undertones. The nose is dark and alluring, with aromas of black currant, saddle leather, and milk chocolate, with a subtle and delicate floral note. The mouth is soft and substantial, with round, mouth-filling tannins layering smoothly with the densely packed flavors of chocolate-covered cherries, spicy black plum, and smoky espresso. This wine is a crowd pleaser and will pair well with a meal of pan roasted pork chops with thyme and currants, served with bacon-roasted Brussels sprouts and a wild rice pilaf.

ROBERT PARKER'S WINE ADVOCATE 93 POINTS - "Containing 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Merlot offers up pronounced notes of plum preserves, baked blackberries and black forest cake with suggestions of baking spices, licorice and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, rich and velvety textured, the palate is laden with dark fruit and spice layers, beautifully defined by a refreshing line, finishing with great persistence. 4,404 cases produced."

The Tempest – a famous play, a violent storm, and the name of Realm's Merlot-based blend, fashioned after the great wines of Pomerol in Bordeaux. The Tempest was the first proprietary wine Realm released, so named for the "perfect" storm of three grape varietals that became available at the same time, from the same vineyard, in 2002 -- the year of Realm's tumultuous beginning. Though their equipment was borrowed and the winery they occupied unfinished, Realm's grapes were sound that year – beautiful in fact – and the resulting wine reflected a fierce determination to brave the storm. The Tempest is still made with beautiful grapes, from vineyards such as Beckstoffer Orchard and Dr. Crane, as well as Blair Vineyard in Calistoga. Predominantly Merlot, with lesser amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot depending on vintage, The Tempest is a roiling cauldron of lush, bright, red fruit – a wine that shows what Merlot can be in the right hands, from the right vineyards.

This vintage exhibits a beautiful, dark ruby color and enticing aromas of black cherry, bramble berries, cocoa, cedar, and rose petals. The palate is supple with generous red and black fruits accentuated by vanilla and spice, finishing with both supple fruit and polished tannins. While drinking well at release, it will improve considerably with bottle age, and should cellar well for up to ten years from vintage.

This is the latest release for an exciting Bordeaux-style blend from Shafer Vineyards; one of the most prized wineries in all of the Napa Valley! TD-9 is a proprietary blend that celebrates a bold move. In 1973, in the space of a few months, John Shafer went from riding morning commuter trains in Chicago to teaching himself to drive a TD-9 tractor in his Napa Valley vineyard. He'd never grown grapes or made wine in his life. That spirit of risk-taking and adventure still guides Shafer today and inspired the creation of this new wine.

JEB DUNNUCK 92 POINTS - "Moving to the reds, the 2017 TD-9 Proprietary Red Blend is mostly Merlot yet includes 22% Malbec and a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep purple-hued with sweet aromas of jammy blackberries, spiced cherries, herbes de Provence, and dried flowers, it is a wonderfully textured, medium to full-bodied, balanced red with sweet tannins and a great finish. It's going to evolve nicely for 10-12 years."

The Investor is a red wine that beautifully blends together the unique flavors and expressions of Merlot, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, resulting in a powerful, yet approachable assemblage with significant fruit presence. The Merlot contributes fresh red berry aromatics and a soft, velvety texture to balance the power of Petite Sirah, which adds concentration, tannins, spice and blueberry flavors. The Cabernet Sauvignon further increases the final blend's complexity and depth and the Malbec's incredibly vibrant floral aromatics heighten the blend's freshness. The majority of the Petite Sirah fruit comes from estate vineyards in Oakville, and additional fruit is sourced from a diverse selection of northern and southern Napa Valley vineyards to broaden the wine’s floral and spicy characteristics. The Merlot is grown on the Stags' Leap estate in the heart of the Stags Leap District, and a selection of southern valley floor Cabernet Sauvignon fruit makes up the balance of the blend. The final blend is 40% Merlot, 30% Petite Sirah, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Malbec.

Deep dark in glass with gorgeous aromas of blue fruit, pie crust and a touch of coconut husk. On the palate the rich texture combines well with the full-bodied tannins and ripe plum and cassis flavors. Layers of fruit intertwine with subtle secondary flavors of briar, cigar box and touch of graphite minerality.

Because Merlot flourishes in relatively cool growing regions with moist soils, it's extremely well-suited to the ancient alluvial loams, temperate climate, and long growing season of the Trefethen family's estate vineyard in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley, a sweet spot between Napa's warmer up-valley regions and its cool southern tip.

Trefethen's Merlot delights from the start with a lovely nose of dark cherry and plum. The aroma gives way to savory notes of black pepper, mushrooms and chocolate. The wine is lush and silky tannins back up a full, strong palate with great structure through the end.