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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.
Not Shippable. Western New York Local Delivery and In-Store Pickup only. Learn MoreSorry, this item is not available for shipment outside of the Western New York area. Either the bottle is too large for our packaging (i.e. we cannot ship anything larger than 750 ml), the dimensions/shape of the bottle doesn't fit within our packaging for safe shipment, or this is a widely-distributed wine (e.g. Barefoot, Yellow Tail, etc) which we only sell at our physical store or for in-store pickup.
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$10.99
Only $9.89 each when you buy a solid or mixed case
Not Shippable. Western New York Local Delivery and In-Store Pickup only. Learn MoreSorry, this item is not available for shipment outside of the Western New York area. Either the bottle is too large for our packaging (i.e. we cannot ship anything larger than 750 ml), the dimensions/shape of the bottle doesn't fit within our packaging for safe shipment, or this is a widely-distributed wine (e.g. Barefoot, Yellow Tail, etc) which we only sell at our physical store or for in-store pickup.
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$20.99
Only $18.89 each when you buy a solid or mixed case
RP9898 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 9th Feb 2023 One of the stars of Italian enology, this iconic wine is Merlot in name but Tuscan in spirit. The L’Apparita is a gorgeous wine and one that brings an enormous sense of excitement and energy to those who drink it. Its texture is soft and rich, yet the tannins are gentle and round. There is plenty of substance and structure here, however, with seamless layers of black fruit, cherry, sweet spice and tobacco. The wine’s complexity is enhanced by elegant mineral tones and a subtle, menthol-like signature. Temperature control and careful pump-overs are executed, and great care is taken during harvest to avoid any overripe berries. Cool, calcareous soils with many stones serve to insulate the roots and lock in freshness. The secret of this wine is magic of site, exposure and geology. This is another collectors’ edition of L’Apparita. (Monica Larner)
Not Shippable. Western New York Local Delivery and In-Store Pickup only. Learn MoreSorry, this item is not available for shipment outside of the Western New York area. Either the bottle is too large for our packaging (i.e. we cannot ship anything larger than 750 ml), the dimensions/shape of the bottle doesn't fit within our packaging for safe shipment, or this is a widely-distributed wine (e.g. Barefoot, Yellow Tail, etc) which we only sell at our physical store or for in-store pickup.
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$16.99
Only $15.29 each when you buy a solid or mixed case
JD94+94+ pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - February 28, 2019 Incorporating 20% Cabernet Franc, the Merlot-dominated 2016 Château Barde Haut is one of the darker colored wines in the lineup. It offers a Grand Cru Burgundy-like purity and elegance as well as beautiful cassis and darker fruits, smoked earth, black cherries, and damp earth aromas and flavors. This medium to full-bodied, balanced, yet tight, backward, pure effort needs a solid 5–7 years of cellaring to round into form, but it’s beautifully balanced and packed with potential. (Jeb Dunnuck)JS93+93–94 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Tuesday, April 4, 2017 Lots of blueberry and blackberry character here. Medium to full body, firm and silky tannins and a savory finish. Should develop beautifully. Exciting young wine.VN92+92–95 pts. - Vinous - Apr 2017 The 2016 Barde-Haut is a racy, voluptuous beauty. Mocha, espresso, plum, black cherry and smoke race across the palate in a dark, sumptuous Saint Émilion loaded with class and personality. This is an especially up-front style. With time in the glass, the wine gains brightness and precision to balance things out. The 2016 is easily one of the best recent versions of Barde-Haut I can remember tasting. Today, it is fabulously beautiful.RP92+92–94 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 28th Apr 2017 The 2016 Barde-Haut is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, vinified without SO2, matured around 80% in new 300-liter barrels from three cooperages and the remainder in one-year-old barrels. Hélène Garçin-Léveque told me that they are focusing on the elegance of their Saint Emilion estate and are picking a little earlier and practicing slightly less extraction. It has a really quite gorgeous bouquet with layers of ripe black plum and wild strawberry notes tinged with sloes. This has very fine delineation and focus. The palate is very well balanced with super-fine tannin, very well judged acidity and tension that lasts from start to finish. This is certainly one of the most feminine Barde-Haut wines that I have tasted from barrel, expressing more precision and finesse. It is an excellent follow-up to the 2015 Barde-Haut and may well surpass it in the long-term.SP91+91–94 pts. - Wine Spectator - Web only – 2017 Juicy, with good bramble and plum cake accents along the edges of the cherry, blueberry and raspberry preserve flavors. Judicious toast lets the fruit shine through the finish while keeping the energy up.
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)
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.
JS9090 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Sunday, February 3, 2019 There’s a red-berry core here with bright, zesty and attractive fruit in a lighter-bodied, flavorful style. Juicy resolve. Neat, fresh finish. Drink or hold.
Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2019 / 750 ml. | Item#59138
JD9494 pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 4/11/2022 Lots of ripe black cherries, mulberries, Christmas spice, incense, and dried flower notes emerge from the 2019 Château La Tour Figeac, a classy, medium to full-bodied Saint-Emilion with supple, finely polished tannins, terrific overall balance, and a great finish. This wonderful 2019 already offers loads of pleasure and will keep for 15–20 years, easily. (Jeb Dunnuck)RP9292 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 7th Apr 2022 The 2019 La Tour Figeac is generous and charming, bursting with aromas of blueberry preserve, sweet spices, dark chocolate and loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied, supple and enveloping, with powdery tannins, succulent acids and a sweet core of fruit, it will offer a broad drinking window. It’s produced from gravely soils and contains an appreciable percentage of very old vine Cabernet Franc. (William Kelley)
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.
RP95+95–97 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 20th May 2021 Sporting a deep purple-black color, the 2020 Malescot St. Exupery prances out of the glass with showy scents of ripe black and red currants, black cherries, raspberry leaves and ground cloves, plus wafts of lilacs and tilled soil. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers mouth-coating black and red fruit layers with a firm, grainy texture and well-balanced acidity, finishing on a lingering fragrant-earth note. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)VN9595 pts. - Vinous - Feb 2023 The 2020 Malescot Saint Exupéry is absolutely gorgeous. Deep and silky (that is not a typo) Malescot shows a level of finesse that is truly remarkable. There is still plenty of textural intensity, but also greater elegance than in the recent past. Succulent dark cherry, plum, licorice, incense and blood orange all run through this wonderfully sumptuous, expressive Margaux. Give this a few years in bottle. Superb. (Antonio Galloni)
RP100100 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 30th Apr 2003 Bottled in late November, 2002, the 2000 has turned out to be a colossal example of Chateau Margaux that is tasting even better from bottle than it was from cask. Only 40% of the crop made it into this 2000 Margaux, a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot. The 2000 possesses a saturated ruby/purple color to the rim as well as an extraordinarily promising nose of creme de cassis intermixed with white flowers, licorice, and hints of espresso and toasty oak. There is great intensity, compelling purity, a multi-layered, full-bodied palate, and a finish that goes on for nearly 70+ seconds. Bottled naturally, with no filtration, it is a monumental example of the elegance and power that symbolize this extraordinary vineyard. A tour de force in winemaking, many of my colleagues predicted, far earlier than me, that it would be the “wine of the vintage.” It is certainly one of the wines of the vintage, but there is plenty of competition, even at this lofty level of quality. Absolutely awesome! Anticipated maturity: 2012–2050.WE100100 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 12/1/2003 If a wine can ever be perfect, this is as perfect as a wine can get. Right from the beginning this was the wine of the vintage, and nothing has changed. Margaux was the last of the first growths to be bottled because it just needed that extra time in barrel. The wine now has huge, intense black cherry and blackberry fruits, and marvelous tannins that are sweet and powerful. To finish, the magnificent Margaux perfume of sandalwood and ripe fruit dominates, leaving an impression of finesse and power.ST9898 pts. - Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar - May/Jun 2003 Penetrating, highly perfumed aromas of sappy dark berries, violet and minerals; seems less oaky today than the ’01. Offers compelling mouthfilling concentration and perfume. A wine of great power and consistency, with a pungent minerality lingering on the palate-staining finish. This somehow doesn’t flag or grow narrower even after one swallows or sips. Makes the 2002 seem almost dry in comparison. Wine-of-the-vintage material.WS9898 pts. - Wine & Spirits - December 1, 2003 Paul Pontallier happened upon the 2000 vintage at Margaux, having prepared the vines since 1983, and having gained a certain level of intimacy with their produce over the years. He doesn’t take credit for the particular balance of water retention in the soils at Margaux, for the light rains that refreshed the vines in August, though he can take some credit for knowing how to manage those vines and when to pick them. For without his history at the château, the 2000 vintage might have been merely great. But there’s something of his spirits in this wine, along with the essence of the Margaux vineyard, the glint of the soil and the grandeur of the building, which taken together will stop you in your tracks.SP95+95–100 pts. - Wine Spectator - Jun 30, 2001 [Barrel tasting] Black ruby in color, with violet and raspberry aromas and hints of currant and spices. Super, full-bodied, with thick, polished tannins. Should be chewy, and it is. But it remains fine and classy. Another 1995? I can’t give more than 100 points.
RP9999 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 22nd Dec 2011 A brilliant offering from the Mentzelopoulos family, once again their gifted manager, Paul Pontallier, has produced an uncommonly concentrated, powerful 2009 Chateau Margaux made from 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest primarily Merlot with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. As with most Medocs, the alcohol here is actually lower (a modest 13.3%) than most of its siblings-. Abundant blueberry, cassis and acacia flower as well as hints of charcoal and forest floor aromas that are almost Burgundian in their complexity are followed by a wine displaying sweet, well-integrated tannins as well as a certain ethereal lightness despite the wine’s overall size. Rich, round, generous and unusually approachable for such a young Margaux, this 2009 should drink well for 30–35+ years.
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Carlo Rossi Merlot
Carlo Rossi Merlot
Castello di Ama l’Apparita
Cavit Merlot
