Adventures in Wine > Merlot

Merlot

Although mercilessly pilloried in the hit film ‘Sideways’, Merlot remains a perennial favourite with winemakers and consumers. Its spiritual home is in Bordeaux’s Right Bank appellations of St Emilion and Pomerol. But these days, Merlot is just as much at home in California, Chile, South Africa and Australia. Merlot’s soft tannins and plummy fruit flavors, together with its early-ripening tendencies, make it a natural blending partner, particular with Cabernet Sauvignon.

Chateau Cap de Merle

Winery: Chateau Cap de Merle
Region: Bordeaux
Sub-region: Lussac St.-Emilion

Cap de Merle

Chateau Cap de Merle is a delicious St-Emilion that represents excellent value. Owners and winemakers Alain and Jean-Marie Bel use no wood in vinifying Cap de Merle, so the pure, rich, spicy Merlot fruit come through directly upon tasting. The winery’s excellent plateau vineyards on clay and sandstone soils assures optimal ripeness of fruit and supple tannins. The Merlot and Cabernet are vinified separately, and are assembled in the spring. Cap de Merle is a lush, round, balanced wine with notes of dark fruit, plums, and chocolate. The wine is meant to be enjoyed young (3-4 years after the vintage) but it can also be cellared for up to 10 years. Cap de Merle is a most versatile and enjoyable St-Emilion. Since it comes from the Lussac area, just outside St-Emilion itself, Cap de Merle represents exceptional value in Merlot-based Bordeaux. Chateau Cap de Merle is a fine match for London Broil with sautéed mushrooms, roast veal and pork and Cajun cuisine.

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Chateau Grimard

Winery: Chateau Grimard
Region: Bordeaux
Sub-region: Pomerol

Bordeaux

Chateau Grimard is a small, three generation-old family estate located in the commune of Lugon, just outside the Fronsac region on the right-bank of Bordeaux. The vineyard lies on a south-east slope, which is ideal for attaining full ripeness. The vines have an average age of 25 years. Chateau Grimard is a classic Bordeaux, offering a deep red-purple color, a lush bouquet, and ripe plummy-cassis fruit with good structure. It is a wine with more definition and character than most other petite chateaux, which is in part due to the excellent location of the property, where the Merlot grape thrives in the area’s clay soils. Chateau Grimard is vinified and matured in stainless steel tanks to ensure that it gives immediate pleasure at the table. It is a versatile, food-friendly wine that can be enjoyed with fowl and red meat dishes.

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Chateau Jonqueyres

Winery: Chateau Jonqueyres
Region: Bordeaux
Sub-region: Bordeaux Superieur

Bordeaux Superieur

Built in 1685, Chateau Jonqueyres (zhankear) has been the home of the Audy family for over a century. The estate is located at the summit of a hillside in the Entre Deux Mers region, with ideal clay-limestone soil. The present owner, Anne-Marie Audy-Arcaute, a fourth generation Audy, has recently rebuilt the cellars and upgraded the cuverie with new stainless steel tanks.

Together with the longtime cellar-master Antonio Vierra, Anne-Marie produces a rich, velvety-textured wine. The grapes are harvested by hand as late as possible for optimal maturity and are meticulously sorted to remove any imperfect fruit. The fermentation and vatting process is extended to three weeks for maximum extraction of color and flavor.

Ch. Jonqueyres is matured in oak casks, one third of which are new each year. The wine is vinified so as to deliver the maximum expression of fruit with a fine balance of concentration, ripe tannins and a discreet touch of oak. In the words of Robert Parker, Chateau Jonqueyres makes “high quality wines that can compete with more famous estates.”

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Chateau La Gatte

Winery: Chateau La Gatte
Region: Bordeaux
Sub-region: Bordeaux

La Gatte La Butte
Domaine de Montalon

Located in the appellations Bordeaux and Bordeaux Superieur, Château La Gatte was founded in 1646.

A mere 358 years later, in 2004, the estate was purchased by Hèléne and Michael Affatato. Hèléne, a Bordeaux native, came from Château Latour, where she held an executive position in Public Relations and Sales. Michael, an advertising executive turned wine afficionado, found the perfect marriage for his skills at Chapoutier, where he directed Sales and Marketing for the UK and American markets.

Now the couple have dedicated themselves exclusively to their exciting new enterprise, sharing responsibilities in the vineyard, winery, and office.

The property itself sits atop a famous limestone ridge, which is shared by some of St.-Emilion’s most noble chateaux. The west facing vines overlook the Dordogne River, and benefit from maximum sunlight. To quote Château Latour, “To make a Grand Vin, the vines must see the river.”

After tasting Château La Gatte, we think you will agree that these vines must have an amazing view.

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Grayson Cellars

Winery: Grayson Cellars
Region: California
Sub-region: Paso Robles and Central Coast

Chardonnay Central Coast
Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles
Merlot Paso Robles
Pinot Noir Central Coast
Zinfandel Central Coast

Decades of Napa Valley winemaking meet excellent Paso Robles and Central Coast grapes to create fruit forward, well crafted, value driven wines that are a pleasure to drink.

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House of Independent Producers

Winery: House of Independent Producers
Region: Washington
Sub-region: Columbia Valley

Merlot ‘La Bourgeoisie’

The House of Independent Producers is a project aimed at showcasing some of the best vineyard sites using single vitis vinifera grape varieties. The project is directed under Christophe Hedges, who feels that some of the larger, independently owned vineyards need recognition in single vineyard wines. The House of Independent Producers is a catch-all phrase to describe the independent nature of the grower and the vintner. No advertising and no scores.

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L'Ecole Nº 41

Winery: L’ecole No. 41
Region: Washington
Sub-region: Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

Semillon Seven Hills
Semillon Fries
Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla
Merlot Seven Hills
Apogee
Perigee

The family owned L’Ecole Nº 41 has been producing premium handcrafted varietal wines since 1983 in the historic Frenchtown School in Lowden, Washington. The wines are celebrated by the press, and compare favorably to many more expensive wines from their peers. These wines have everything going for them: top Washington fruit, impeccable winemaking, brilliant packaging, and unmatched value. One of our most popular producers.

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Pavilion Crossing

Winery: Pavilion
Region: California
Sub-region: Napa

Cabernet Sauvignon
Merlot
Chardonnay

The founders of Pavilion bring decades of Napa winemaking experience to each and every bottle, creating some of the best value wines from Napa Valley.




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Relativity Vineyards

Winery: Relativity Vineyards
Region: California
Sub-region: Negociant

Merlot
Quantum Reserve

You don’t have to be a genius to drink good wine.













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Yorkville Cellars

Winery: Yorkville Cellars
Region: California
Sub-region: Mendocino

CERTIFIED ORGANICALLY GROWN WINES

Richard the Lion-Heart
Hi-Rollr Red
Petit Verdot
Merlot
Malbec
Cabernet Sauvignon
Sauvignon Blanc
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Sémillon
Rosé de Franc

Yorkville Cellars is located in Mendocino County, just 100 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The vineyards are on average 1000 feet above sea level, surrounded by other vineyards, sheep ranches and apple and peach orchards. At the bottom of the vineyard is a redwood forest which yields to the spectacular Mendocino coastline. The winery is quite small and produces fewer than 1000 cases of each varietal. No pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers are used in the production of Yorkville Cellars wines; the winery has been certified organic since 1986.

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