Napa Valley

Merlot from California's Napa Valley is the warm-climate, New World expression of Bordeaux's softest great red grape — ripe, plush and full-bodied, layering juicy black cherry, plum and blackberry over chocolate, mocha and sweet vanilla oak. Napa's heat ripens Merlot's larger berries fully, giving a generous, fruit-forward wine with soft, round tannin, only moderate acidity and a warming ~14% alcohol — a smoother, more immediately approachable counterpart to the valley's flagship Cabernet Sauvignon, yet capable in the best hands of real depth.