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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.
WE8888 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 10/1/2020 Full of black fruit, this dense wine brings out the ripeness of the vintage. While the alcohol is obvious, fresh blackberry flavors mask it. This rich wine is ready to drink. (Roger Voss)Premier SelectPremier Select wines are handpicked by our staff from amongst thousands of wines for their exceptional quality. They're made by a top producer and comparable to wines at twice the cost.
WE9191 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 3/1/2021 This grand chateau on its hillside surveys a 150-acre vineyard. The top wine from the estate, this is mainly wood aged, giving polish as well as perfumed black-currant fruitiness. With its ripe tannins, the wine will easily age. Drink from 2023. (Roger Voss)RP90+90–92 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 23rd Apr 2019 Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Pitray features bright, expressive wild blueberries, black raspberries and warm plums scents with hints of spice cake and potpourri. Full-bodied, the palate is laden with juicy blue and black fruits, framed by plush tannins and just enough freshness, finishing with beautiful purity. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)JS9090 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Wednesday, March 3, 2021 A juicy, flavorful red that is delicious now, offering plum, chocolate and berry aromas and flavors. Medium body, firm tannins and a savory finish. Nice acidity, too. Drink or hold.
Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2018 / 750 ml. | Item#55578
JS9797 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Thursday, April 22, 2021 Currant, red-tea, chili, chocolate and lemon-zest aromas. Chalk and crushed gravel, too. It’s medium-bodied with tight, fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity. Sleek and tight with crunchy berry, mineral and zesty notes on the finish. Complex. Pretty center palate to this. Extremely polished. Try from 2025.JD95+95+ pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 3/11/2021 Emerging from a beautiful, terraced vineyard on the eastern side of Saint-Emilion, the 2018 Château Tour Saint Christophe is based on 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc that was brought up in 40% new French oak. Its vivid purple color is followed by a great nose of blackcurrants, blueberries, tobacco leaf, chocolate, violets, and chocolate. Hitting the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, it has this wonderful sense of purity and elegance, a touch of chalky minerality, flawless balance, and a great finish. This beautiful, elegant, seamless Saint-Emilion needs 4–5 years of bottle age but will evolve for 20–25 years. You won’t regret having this in the cellar. (Jeb Dunnuck)VN9595 pts. - Vinous - Mar 2021 The 2018 Tour Saint Christophe represents a new level of elegance, precision and finesse for this estate in Saint-Émilion’s Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes district. Silky and exceptionally polished, the 2018 oozes class. Moreover, the heavy extraction and strong torrefaction notes that marked previous vintages of the recent past have been replaced by beautifully precise, vibrant fruit. Tour Saint Christophe is one of best values in Saint-Émilion. I haven’t always loved Tour Saint Christoph, but I love the 2018. It’s a fabulous effort from Technical Director Jérôme Aguirre and his team. Don’t miss it.RP9494 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 22nd Apr 2021 A blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, aged for around 18 months in oak barrels, 40% new, the 2018 Tour Saint Christophe weighs in at 14.6% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple in color, it comes barreling out of the glass with bold notions of baked black cherries, plum preserves and blueberry pie plus underlying suggestions of Christmas cake, Chinese five spice and dusty soil. The full-bodied palate packs in the black and blue fruit preserves layers, framed by velvety tannins and lively acidity, finishing long and spicy.
JS9696 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Tuesday, June 22, 2021 Aromas of blackberry, plum, cocoa, iodine, clove and graphite. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, silky tannins. Tightly wound and mineral at the moment, with dusty gravel and graphite notes, yet with focus and precision. Such balance and harmony for the vintage. Try from 2025.JD9595 pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 3/11/2021 The top wine, the 2018 Château D’Issan is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot that spent 18 months in 50% new French oak. It offers a beautiful, singular bouquet of blackcurrants, new leather, smoked tobacco, scorched earth, and camphor. This carries to a medium to full-bodied, seamless Margaux with wonderful tannins, beautifully integrated acidity, and just a flawlessly balanced, elegant, layered style that’s going to evolve for 20–25 years. It’s one classy 2018 that has loads to love. (Jeb Dunnuck)RP94+94–96 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 23rd Apr 2019 The 2018 D’Issan is composed of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, aging in 50% new and 50% second year barrels for an estimated 18 months. With 13.97% alcohol and a deep garnet-purple color, it features baked berries, warm cherries and cassis with spice box and fragrant earth plus tea hints. Medium to full-bodied, it has a great core of muscular fruit with firm, fine-grained tannins, with nice freshness, finishing layered with mineral notions.VN9494 pts. - Vinous - Mar 2021 The 2018 d’Issan is a potent, backward wine that is going to need a number of years to come into its own. Dark and brooding, with serious intensity, the 2018 shows off real depth in its blue/purplish fruit, chocolate, spice, smoke and leather flavors. The tannins are imposing today, but, then again, everything about the 2018 feels large in scale. I can’t wait to see how the 2018 ages.
RP100100 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 31st Mar 2021 The 2018 Château Margaux is composed of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, representing 36% of the crop this year. The wine has a pH of 3.8 and 14% alcohol. Deep purple-black in color, it slowly unfurls to reveal tantalizing scents of crème de cassis, wild blueberries and Black Forest cake with hints of redcurrant jelly, rose oil, dark chocolate and cedar chest plus a touch of star anise. The medium to full-bodied palate bursts with opulent black fruit, fragrant earth and floral layers, supported by a rock-solid structure of exquisitely ripe, finely grained tannins and seamless backbone of freshness, finishing with fantastic length. This is classic Margaux at its most seductive, although it is, rather amazingly, approachable and absolutely delicious right now. But, to enjoy its full glory, you will want to cellar it for at least 6–8 years and then watch it metamorphize over the next 40+ years.JD100100 pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 3/11/2021 Based on 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% each of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2018 Château Margaux is a magical, incredibly sexy expression of this Château that sports a dense purple color as well as a thrilling bouquet of blueberries, cassis, acacia flowers, scorched earth, sandalwood, and violets. Incredibly concentrated and full-bodied on the palate, it nevertheless has an almost Burgundian sense of finesse and elegance, with an ethereal texture, silky yet massive amounts of tannins, notable freshness, and brilliant length. The alcohol hit a whopping 14%, which is high by this estate’s standards, but everything is flawlessly integrated, the balance is perfect, and I certainly can’t find anything that could be better. This 2018 is going to be relatively drinkable at an early age (do your best to hide bottles for 7–8 years) yet last for 75+. (Jeb Dunnuck)JS100100 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Sunday, November 28, 2021 So much ash, tobacco and earth to the bright blackberry and currant aromas. Flowers too. Fresh. Full-bodied with seamless tannins that spread across your palate and caress every square centimeter. It’s shows loads of ripe-berry, cherry, currant and chocolate character, as well as walnut and light cedar. Then the finish goes on for minutes. Extremely refined and elegant, despite the structure. 90% cabernet sauvignon, 4% cabernet franc, 4% merlot and 2% petit verdot. A joy to taste, but drink after 2025.VN98+98+ pts. - Vinous - Mar 2021 The 2018 Margaux is an infant. Today, the tannins are unusually searing, but then again, the 2018 is a wine in which all the elements are dialed up to the maximum. Time in the glass releases the fruit, revealing a luxurious, opulent Château Margaux built for the cellar. Cedar, tobacco, dried flowers and mint develop with a bit of coaxing. Rich, deep and utterly beguiling, the 2018 is a dramatic wine that will thrill readers lucky enough to own it.SP9898 pts. - Wine Spectator - Mar 31, 2021 This struts along with supreme confidence, as a cashmere-textured structure effortlessly carries a prodigious set of warmed cassis, plum reduction and blackberry compote flavors, pulling in alder, bergamot, black and red tea and iron notes. Still manages to come across as restrained in the end. A beautiful wine. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2028 through 2040. 10,833 cases made.WE9898 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 5/1/2021 While this wine reflects the richness and density of the vintage, it also shows all the elegance of which a great Margaux is capable. The wine is powerful and beautifully structured, both ripe and restrained. It will age magnificently. Start to think about drinking from 2028.
JD9393 pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 5/6/2021 Lots of ripe cherry, mulberry, and currant-like fruits as well as spice, beef broth, and dried herb notes, emerge from the 2018 Merlot Stoneridge Vineyard. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has a soft, plush texture, terrific mid-palate depth (which can be lacking in a number of Merlots), sweet tannins, and a great finish. Drink bottles any time over the coming decade. (Jeb Dunnuck)JS9292 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Monday, July 12, 2021 A full-bodied, plush red with aromas of plums, cherries, vanilla, rust and hazelnut. Polished and spiced with a full, creamy palate and fine-grained tannins. Flavorful finish. Drink or hold.
JD9797 pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 3/11/2021 The deep purple, inky-hued 2018 Château Gazin comes from the Pomerol plateau and is 93% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc. A brilliant nose of blueberries, candied cherries, wildflowers, tobacco, chocolate, and spice gives way to a stunning Pomerol with full-bodied richness, a layered, seamless texture, ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. This plush, sexy, opulent Pomerol does everything right. It already offers pleasure yet will ideally be given 4–6 years of bottle age and will have two decades or so over overall longevity. (Jeb Dunnuck)WE9595 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 5/1/2021 For its weight, this wine is also elegant. Rich, lush Merlot fruit flavors have a sense of restraint, self-contained and already delicious. The ripe berry flavors promise a wine that will have opulent fruit as well as structure. Drink from 2026.JS9595 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Wednesday, March 3, 2021 Rich aromas of blueberries, ripe black cherries, chocolate and sandalwood. It’s full-bodied with firm, well integrated and rounded tannins. Solid depth of fruit here. Creamy and polished. Better after 2024.VN9494 pts. - Vinous - Mar 2021 The 2018 Gazin has a lively, generous bouquet of vivacious wild strawberry, boysenberry and hints of tobacco. The aromatics are well delineated and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, offering seductive black fruit mixed with black pepper, truffle and clove. There is so much finesse toward the finish that it is approachable now, yet it certainly has the substance to suggest long-term aging. Not to be underestimated, this is another wonderful Gazin.RP93+93+ pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 31st Mar 2021 Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Gazin (a blend of 93% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc) leaps from the glass with vibrant notes of warm plums, black raspberries and kirsch, plus suggestions of wild mushrooms, fragrant earth, Sichuan pepper and tree bark. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers impressive energy with approachable, rounded tannins and a lively backbone framing the crunchy red and black fruits, finishing long and earthy.
JS9797 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Wednesday, March 3, 2021 A seductive Margaux with an intense nose of black fruit and red plums. Some herb and wood notes, too. It’s full-bodied with pretty, pure-berry flavors with some crushed stones and cement. The texture is silky and fine-grained and the tannins melt into the wine. Precise, flavorful finish with length. Try after 2024.RP9595 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 31st Mar 2021 The medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Malescot St. Exupery leaps from the glass with expressive scents of baked blackberries, Morello cherries and boysenberries with hints of blackcurrant cordial, dark chocolate, licorice and tilled soil. The medium to full-bodied palate has impressive intensity without heaviness, delivering mouth-coating black fruits and a firm, grainy texture, finishing with a refreshing earthy lift.VN9595 pts. - Vinous - Mar 2021 The 2018 Malescot Saint Exupéry is every bit as compelling as it was from barrel. Powerful and incisive, the 2018 is a driving, potent Margaux that dazzles from the first taste. Iron, smoke, new leather, licorice, pressed rose petal and cedar all open in the glass, conveying tremendous nuance and a ton of character.SP9595 pts. - Wine Spectator - Mar 31, 2021 Lovely, with gently mulled plum, blackberry and black currant fruit sailing through atop a velvety structure while mouthwatering bay, black tea and iron notes flow underneath. Seductive, detailed finish lets a sanguine note echo longest. Gorgeous wine. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2023 through 2036. 9,183 cases made.JD9595 pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 3/1/2021 I loved the 2018 Château Malescot Saint Exupéry from barrel two years ago, and it certainly doesn’t disappoint from bottle today. Based on 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, this deeply hued beauty boasts smoking good notes of blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, chocolate, and spice. Full-bodied and impressively concentrated, it has a stacked mid-palate, ripe, sweet yet certainly present tannins, a terrific sense of freshness, and a great finish. It’s going to fun comparing this and the 2016 over the coming two decades! While there’s some up-front accessibility and charm here, it really needs 4–6 years of bottle age and is going to have 20–25 years of overall longevity. This is gem of a wine that’s well worth seeking out. (Jeb Dunnuck)WE9393 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 5/1/2021 This is a fruity and structured wine. With its dusty tannins and promising firm core, it has the texture for aging. Fruitiness gives it the potential to mature into a poised and sophisticated wine. Drink from 2026.
VN9898 pts. - Vinous - Jan 2021 The 2018 Roberta’s Reserve is another magnificent wine from the Kapcsándy family. Beautifully ripe and deep, the Roberta’s balances richness with elegance in a stunning style. Black cherry, chocolate, new leather, licorice, spice and menthol, build as this creamy, expansive Merlot opens over time. The 2018 is all class. In a word: superb.JD9797 pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 1/27/2021 The Merlot-dominated 2018 Roberta’s Reserve (there is 2% Cabernet Franc) is also deeply hued and has a great nose of smoked black and blue fruits, gravelly earth, chocolate, and tobacco. As with all the wines here, it has incredible purity of fruit, the tannins are just about perfect, and it’s flawlessly balanced. Hide bottles for 4–5 years and enjoy over the following 15–20 years. (Jeb Dunnuck)RP96+96+ pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 5th Nov 2020 A blend of 98% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Roberta’s Reserve State Lane Vineyard was aged in French oak, 75% new. Deep garnet-purple in color, it comes bounding out of the glass with energetic notes of crushed red and black plums, boysenberries and Morello cherries plus hints of blueberry pie, camphor, dark chocolate, star anise and bay leaves. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a solid foundation of ripe, rounded tannins and bold freshness supporting the generous, crunchy black and red fruit, finishing long and lifted. 175 cases were made.
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Chateau d’Haurets Red Bordeaux
Château de Pitray Premier Vin
Château Tour Saint Christophe
Château d’Issan Margaux
