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Red
750ml
Bottle: $15.94
12 bottles: $15.62
The Block & Row Merlot leads with impressions of ripe cherries and fresh raspberries accented by seductive aromas of...
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $35.64
This varietal Merlot aged in 100% stainless steel has a fairly good layering of flavors with notes of blackberry,...
WE
89
Red
750ml
Bottle: $42.94
12 bottles: $42.08
Our 2019 Napa Valley Merlot opens with lively bright red fruits and a soft, lush texture. Delicate floral aromas...
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $87.89
Lots of black olives with some conifer and mushrooms. Raspberries, too. Full-bodied with soft and round tannins....
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JS
95
WS
94
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $17.28
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $53.94 $57.60
Gutsy yet refined, this red balances a broad-shouldered structure with rich, multilayered flavors of blackberry and...
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WS
93
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $49.94 $52.79
12 bottles: $49.40
This is a complex and delicious wine. It beckons with aromas of dark purple plum and anise. Bright fruit flavors...
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $7.87
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $46.20 $52.80
Clear, direct fruit flavors such as red cherries and cranberries are nicely framed in moderate tannins and balanced...
WE
91
JS
91
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.94 $16.25
12 bottles: $14.64
Like all of our red wines, the 2019 Merlot is unfiltered providing a depth of flavor. Lush and velvety, this is a...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $43.27 $48.08
6 bottles: $40.00
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $11.99
This 100% Merlot packs a big fruit punch. Massive amounts of blackberries and blackcurrants are surrounded by aromas...
WE
89
Red
750ml
Bottle: $49.94
12 bottles: $48.94
12 FREE
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $40.89 $41.59
12 bottles: $40.07
A modern-styled wine, featuring cedar and toasted oak spice surrounded by dried plum and black currant fruit, with...
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Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $119.95
I like the savory nose here, with notes of coffee, spiced plum, overturned earth and bark. Full-bodied with fine,...
JS
95
WS
94

Fruit Wine Grappa Merlot 2019 United States

Like so many of the great spirits of Europe, Grappa was born from a need to make resources go that little bit further, to eke out the last drop of flavor and potential from the crops of winemakers. Indeed, Italian vintners invented Grappa as a way to make use of the pomace - leftover grape skins, stems, pulp and seeds - which remained after the juice was extracted from the fruit needed to make wine. Over the centuries, the process was refined, and the distillation of Grappa became an art in itself. Today, top Grappa producers use a range of state of the art equipment, from continuous stills to pot stills, to manufacture a wide variety of Grappas, each with their own distinct characteristics.


Most of us know Grappa from our local Italian restaurants, where it is commonly served as a digestif. However, in the twenty first century, there is a high interest in unique, boutique Grappas, which showcase the talent of the distillers through a range of interesting qualities. Grappa can be aged in oak, in which case it takes on a beautiful golden color, quite different from the clear Grappas we are most familiar with. The high end Grappas are a world away from the harsh spirit many of us have encountered, and have a smooth, gentle quality which can be nothing short of a revelation.

With its dark blue colored fruits and high juice content, Merlot varietal grapes have long been a favorite of wine producers around the globe, with it being found in vineyards across Europe, the Americas and elsewhere in the New World. One of the distinguishing features of Merlot grapes is the fact that they have a relatively low tannin content and an exceptionally soft and fleshy character, meaning they are capable of producing incredibly rounded and mellow wines. This mellowness is balanced with plenty of flavor, however, and has made Merlot grapes the varietal of choice for softening other, more astringent and tannin-heavy wines, often resulting in truly exceptional produce. Merlot is regarded as one of the key 'Bordeaux' varietals for precisely this reason; when combined with the drier Cabernet Sauvignon, it is capable of blending beautifully to produce some of the finest wines available in the world.

Of all the New World wine countries, perhaps the one which has demonstrated the most flair for producing high quality wines - using a combination of traditional and forward-thinking contemporary methods - has been the United States of America. For the past couple of centuries, the United States has set about transforming much of its suitable land into vast vineyards, capable of supporting a wide variety of world-class grape varietals which thrive on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coastlines. Of course, we immediately think of sun-drenched California in regards to American wines, with its enormous vineyards responsible for the New World's finest examples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based wines, but many other states have taken to viticulture in a big way, with impressive results. Oregon, Washington State and New York have all developed sophisticated and technologically advanced wine cultures of their own, and the output of U.S wineries is increasing each year as more and more people are converted to their produce.