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Having been ridiculed (unfairly, in our opinion) in the movie, "Sideways," Merlot sometimes gets a bad rap as a beginner wine. We respectfully disagree. The Merlot grape, like many, can make fine wines for daily drinking as well as the best Merlots, sought out by collectors for their fine pedigree. Many of today's best-selling red blends contain Merlot as their backbone and some of the highest priced wines in the world (Château Pétrus in Bordeaux, for example) also use Merlot.
Merlot is versatile, which is why you'll find it planted in both warmer and cooler climates around the world. Besides Bordeaux, Merlot is also produced in the US, Australia, Chile, and elsewhere.
So here is an ode to Merlot. We know you well, and though we do not always sing your praises, we must give you your due as one of the greats.
VN9191 pts. - Vinous - Jul 2022 The 2019 Lagone is a soft, fruity Maremma red to drink now and over the next handful of years. A burst of sweet red berry fruit, cinnamon, rose petal and new leather lends energy to this tasty, mid-weight red. Best of all, the 2019 should be a terrific value. (Antonio Galloni)
VN9393 pts. - Vinous - Jul 2022 The 2019 La Massa is a very pretty wine. Crushed flowers, red berry fruit, mint, chalk and spice accents are all nicely delineated. There’s terrific energy driving the 2019. Once again, Giampaolo Motta’s Sangiovese-based blend delivers the goods. (Antonio Galloni)JS9292 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Monday, August 8, 2022 This has aromas of sour cherries, currants, lemon leaves and olive stones. It’s juicy and bright with a medium body and fine tannins. Savory, focused and tight finish. Better from 2023.
VN9292 pts. - Vinous - Feb 2022 The 2019 Clos du Roy has an intense bouquet of marine-tinged black fruit, though I get the feeling that it’s already beginning to close down. The palate is medium-bodied and concentrated, with firm tannins, plenty of black fruit and impressive structure on the finish. Very fine, but give it a couple of years in bottle.
VN9494 pts. - Vinous - Jan 2022 Plumpjack’s 2019 Merlot offers terrific tension and grip. In 2019, the Merlot includes fruit from a site in Carneros, and that seams to add an extra dimension of energy that is quite appealing. Dried herbs, leather, tobacco and crushed flowers lend striking aromatic nuance to this savory, beautifully delineated wine. The 2019 is super distinctive, not to mention a real pleasure to taste. (Antonio Galloni)JD9494 pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 5/4/2022 A beautiful Merlot, the 2019 from PlumpJack offers everything you could want from this variety with its plump, fleshy, medium to full-bodied profile as well as terrific aromatics of black cherries, darker berries, leafy herbs, spring flowers, and a touch of chocolate. It’s ready to go yet should continue delivering the goods over the coming decade. (Jeb Dunnuck)
VN9090 pts. - Vinous - Feb 2022 The 2019 La Tour de Mons spans two terms of ownership. It was sold in February 2020 to the Perroudot family (owners of Labégorce and Marquis d’Alesme), so the current team finished the aging. The 2019 has an expressive bouquet of lively blackberry and raspberry fruit, some attractive orange pith scents coming through with time. The palate is well balanced with fleshy ripe red fruit, white pepper and graphite. Nicely balanced and gentle, leading to a precise, quite Pauillac-like finish. Lovely.JD9090 pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 4/11/2022 The 2019 Château La Tour De Mons is solid, with medium-bodied aromas and flavors of savory red fruits, leather, dried herbs, and chalky minerality. Balanced, with building tannins and outstanding length, it’s going to drink well for 15 years. (Jeb Dunnuck)
VN9595 pts. - Vinous - Jun 2022 The 2019 Barde-Haut is beautifully defined on the nose, very pure with precise blackberry, briary, violets and iris flower, harmonious. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiseled tannins, cohesive and mineral-driven; the terroir is very expressive towards the finish that lingers in the mouth. Wonderful, assured and with great potential. Tasted at the Barde-Haut vertical at the château. (Neal Martin)JD9494 pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 4/11/2022 This beautiful estate is located on the eastern side of the appellation, and they consistently turn out brilliant wines. The 2019 Château Barde-Haut reveals a deep purple hue to go with classic limestone-influenced aromas and flavors of ripe black cherries, chalky minerality, chocolate, and white truffle. More medium to full-bodied and elegant than overtly powerful, its balance is spot on, it has beautiful tannins, and a great finish. It shows the vintage style perfectly and will benefit from 4–5 years of bottle age, and cruise for over two decades in cold cellars. (Jeb Dunnuck)
Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2019 / 750 ml. | Item#58162
JD94+94+ pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 4/11/2022 The 2019 Château Fombrauge is terrific and has a good mix of richness, concentration, and elegance. Giving up notes of mulled ripe cherries, Asian spices, blackberries, tobacco, and cedar pencil on the nose, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a seamless, layered, pure mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and just beautiful overall balance. It’s already drinking beautifully today yet will evolve positively for 5–7 years and hold for another 15–20 years. It’s another brilliant Saint-Emilion in the vintage. This seemed more modern and polished from barrel but shows a very classic style now from bottle. (Jeb Dunnuck)VN9494 pts. - Vinous - Feb 2022 The 2019 Fombrauge is one of the best wines I have tasted from this property in some time. It shows all the richness that is typical of Bernard Magrez’s style but with less heaviness and a good deal of aromatic presence that helps balance things out. Sweet dark cherry, chocolate, leather, licorice and mocha build into the resonant, super-expressive finish. The 2019 is a classy Fombrauge. (Antonio Galloni)
VN9494 pts. - Vinous - Feb 2022 The 2019 Labégorce was the first vintage vinified in the new cellar and also the first to use Cabernet Franc from the north part of the appellation, on more limestone soils, a massal selection from an organic producer in the south of France. Matured in 40% new oak, this has a voluminous, multifaceted bouquet, a mixture of red and black fruit, cedar and perhaps more rose petal than violet at the moment. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, very well balanced, and a little spicier than I found from barrel, leading to a detailed, tensile finish. (Neal Martin)JD9494 pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 4/11/2022 Gorgeous notes of red, blue, and black fruits as well as sandalwood, tobacco leaf, chocolate, and spicy notes emerge from the 2019 Château Labégorce, one of the richer, more opulent, and straight-up sexy wines in the vintage. A blend of 46% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, all raised in 40% new oak, it’s medium to full-bodied, has beautifully integrated oak, a stacked mid-palate, and one heck of a great finish. Drink this rich, sensationally textured Margaux any time over the coming two decades. It’s unquestionably in the same league as the 2015, 2016, and 2018. (Jeb Dunnuck)
VN9797 pts. - Vinous - Sep 2021 The 2017 Geremia is a revelation. It might be even better than the 2015 or 2016, which is saying a lot. Soaring aromatics make a strong first impression. In 2017, the fruit profile leans more into the red fruit end of the spectrum. The warm, dry year yielded a Geremia that is unusually open. I doubt too many of the estate’s fans will have a problem with that given how long these wines usually take to open. Today, the 2017 Geremia is a total pleasure bomb. Don’t miss it. (Antonio Galloni)
JS9393 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Sunday, February 20, 2022 Beautiful and complex aromas of orange peel, fruit tea, hazelnuts and berries follow through to a medium body with ultra-fine tannins and polished, refined tannins. Finesse with focus. Try after 2025.VN9292 pts. - Vinous - Feb 2022 The 2019 Bel-Air has come together nicely. It’s racy personality is on display, but élevage seems to have tamed some of the overt intensity that was present in the early going. Inky dark fruit, new leather, kirsch and sweet spice infuse the 2019 with quite a bit of character. This ripe, forward Pomerol will drink well right out of the gate. (Antonio Galloni)
VN9292 pts. - Vinous - Feb 2022 The 2019 Montviel is a charming, easygoing Pomerol to drink now and over the next 10–15 years. Supple, silky tannins wrap around a core of plush dark red fruit, with hints of cedar, tobacco, mint and leather that add nuance. This is nicely done. (Antonio Galloni)JD9292 pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 4/11/2022 The 2019 Château Montviel is beautiful, with a pure, precise, incredibly elegant style as well as medium-bodied aromas and flavors of black and blue fruits, damp earth, and spring flowers. It shows the seamless, balanced style of the vintage in Pomerol nicely and will keep for 15+ years. (Jeb Dunnuck)
JD9999 pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 4/11/2022 The 2019 Château Pavie is another beauty that offers more density and sexiness than just about every other wine in the vintage, yet it is still an unnecessarily restrained expression of this terroir, which is the fad in Bordeaux these days. Based on 50% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc, and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon that was brought up in 80% new French oak, this deep purple-hued effort has a great bouquet of ripe black cherries, darker currants, tobacco leaf, violets, and graphite, with a beautiful sense of minerality and salinity on the palate. Full-bodied, concentrated, and powerful, it has plenty of background oak, a deep, layered mid-palate, terrific tannins, and a great finish. It shows the more understated, elegant style of the vintage yet is still pure Pavie. Hide bottles for 5–7 years and enjoy over the following 30+. (Jeb Dunnuck)VN9797 pts. - Vinous - Feb 2022 The 2019 Pavie is incredibly elegant right out of the gate. Aromas of crushed rose petal, cedar, mint and sweet pipe tobacco are immediately alluring. The 2019 is sensual and inviting, with no excess weight and fabulous overall balance. Blood orange, red/purplish fruit, cinnamon and mint develop effortlessly. Time in the glass brings out Cabernet Franc aromatics and structure, leading to a feeling of vertical intensity that is hugely appealing. (Antonio Galloni)
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Aia Vecchia Lagone
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Clos du Roy Fronsac
PlumpJack Merlot
