Best Merlot Vineyards

WINE TALK
41

F-ing YES!
https://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3254477#p3254477

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42

Jean Edwards makes a very nice merlot from Oak Knoll. Can be had for around fifty bucks which makes it a very nice Qpr as well.

2 Likes
43

Yeah 100% merlot almost always …

44

Wonderful. I received 2 bottles of the tempest. I’ll try one soon!

45

Whoa! Killer notes. 95! Fantastic!

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46

None of these is going to be confused for Petrus, or VCC, or really any Pomerol for that matter, but I enjoy them:

Paloma
Frog’s Leap
Constant
Pride
Farella

I’ve also had good luck with older Seavey and Ravenswood merlots.

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47

I love a good merlot. They are a perfect wine for impatient CabSav enthusiasts…

Agree with the previous votes for Paloma, Pride, Newton. Also agree that Paloma’s newer vintages just don’t taste as good to me as earlier (I buy each release).

Ehlers is another great Merlot from Napa. Surprised it hasn’t been mentioned.

What was my #1 favorite merlot, and no longer available (sadly) was from Hartwell Estate. It was a real treat. I suppose that might be Realm now??

48

I would have expected to see some mention of Carneros as I’ve had some pretty good ones. Hudson, Truchard and Sinskey have all done quite well. Also, Bennett Valley used to be quite a good place for Merlot but I’ve not had any recently.

49

I’m surprised no one has mentioned Ridge yet.

50

Agree on Hartwell. I especially loved the 2013.
Woods has some left. Here is the link if you are still interested:

https://www.woodswholesalewine.com/products/2013-hartwell-vineyards-estate-merlot-stags-leap-district-usa-750ml?_pos=1&_sid=8928869aa&_ss=r

45$
I have a few in my cart!

51

pride mountain top merlot is pretty good.

52

Thanks for the information and have you purchased from them before?

53

thanks for the tip!

I tried to buy a case, but they do not ship to my address…sigh…bummer. (I live in Alaska)

54

I just remembered a couple other merlot’s in my cellar that I rather enjoy and would recommend, in no particular order, they are just what I usually buy each year…

From Napa;
Regusci
O’Shaughnessy
Pahlmeyer
Robinson Family
Tamber Bay
Tresspass

From Washington;
Leonetti
Long Shadows
Pepper Bridge
Dunham

55

I was going to add Truchard to this list and am glad to see you beat me to it! Superb value and great wine.

Also agree with the Blackbird recommendation from John.

One other that I haven’t seen mentioned is Keenan - we buy half bottles of their Merlot for weeknight drinking and I think it’s super solid. Not Petrus, but good value.

56

No worries. Yes I have, twice. Everything went smooth.
No tax charged to me for shipments to MD, and the shipment price for 3 bottles was 22$ or so.

57

ah hard luck. But no problem glad to share some tips.

58

Thanks for the mention Chris. Oak Knoll is a sweet spot in the valley for merlot. Our merlot is from Beckstoffer Orchard Avenue Vineyard in Oak Knoll.

59

Calluna Vineyards, Dr. Reynaud is very nice and very affordable. It’s their flagship wine and gets and deserves a fair amount of love.

60

Great topic. I recently had a 2015 Coho Merlot, Michael Black Vineyard, Coombsville, that was really nice and terrific qpr from WineAccess, $39 before discounts. IIRC there’s a little Cab Sauv and Petit Verdot in the blend.

Merlot is on my list of “wines I don’t drink enough of.” I wish I could balance that out with a list of “wines I drink too much of,” but sadly that list doesn’t exist.