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Onabay Vineyards Merlot Great Blue Heron 2019 750ml

size
750ml
country
United States
region
New York
appellation
Long Island
subappellation
North Fork
WA
88
Additional vintages
2019 2018 2017
WA
88
Rated 88 by Wine Advocate
The 2019 Merlot Great Blue Heron also has 6% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon and a trace amount of Petit Verdot, all aged for 16 months in used French oak of various ages. It comes in at 13.3% alcohol. One of the nicer inexpensive reds, this is textured and fruity at the same time. It has some ripe tannins for support, although structure is not its strongest suit. Rather, the mid-palate finesse and refinement are its best features. The fruit is tasty and the whole seems a little on the sophisticated side. This is not by any means a great Merlot, and I'm not sure it even matches recent performances, but at the price point, it is sure hard to argue too much on this graceful red. ... More details
Image of bottle
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Onabay Vineyards Merlot Great Blue Heron 2019 750ml

SKU 929918
$20.94
/750ml bottle
Quantity
* This item is available for online ordering only. It can be picked up or shipped from our location within 4-6 business days. ?
Professional Ratings
WA
88
WA
88
Rated 88 by Wine Advocate
The 2019 Merlot Great Blue Heron also has 6% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon and a trace amount of Petit Verdot, all aged for 16 months in used French oak of various ages. It comes in at 13.3% alcohol. One of the nicer inexpensive reds, this is textured and fruity at the same time. It has some ripe tannins for support, although structure is not its strongest suit. Rather, the mid-palate finesse and refinement are its best features. The fruit is tasty and the whole seems a little on the sophisticated side. This is not by any means a great Merlot, and I'm not sure it even matches recent performances, but at the price point, it is sure hard to argue too much on this graceful red.
Winery
• Practicing Organic. • Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. • North Fork of Long Island AVA. • Hand-harvested. • 100% destemmed. • Cold-soaked for two days prior to fermentation. • Gentle punch down management. • Transferred to barrel for malolactic fermentation. • Aged 17 months in French oak (20% new).
Product Details
size
750ml
country
United States
region
New York
appellation
Long Island
subappellation
North Fork
Additional vintages
2019 2018 2017
Overview
The 2019 Merlot Great Blue Heron also has 6% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon and a trace amount of Petit Verdot, all aged for 16 months in used French oak of various ages. It comes in at 13.3% alcohol. One of the nicer inexpensive reds, this is textured and fruity at the same time. It has some ripe tannins for support, although structure is not its strongest suit. Rather, the mid-palate finesse and refinement are its best features. The fruit is tasty and the whole seems a little on the sophisticated side. This is not by any means a great Merlot, and I'm not sure it even matches recent performances, but at the price point, it is sure hard to argue too much on this graceful red.
green grapes

Varietal: Merlot

Merlot has long been a grape associated with excellent quality of character and flavor, and has spread around the globe as a result of its relative hardiness and reliability. From Chile to Bordeaux, Merlot vines grow to ripeness, and end up producing a remarkably wide variety of wines. Single variety wines made from Merlot grapes tend to be beautifully rich in color, and packed full of jammy, hedgerow flavors and notes of plum and currant, and ideal for newcomers to red wines as a result of their medium body. This medium body comes about due to the fact that the skin of Merlot grapes tends to be quite thin, meaning that the tannin content of Merlot wines is lower than those made from other blue-black grapes. The mellowness and roundedness which results is ideal for blending, also, and Merlot is used as a blending grape in some of the world's finest wineries, to produce aged wines of exceptional character.
barrel

Region: New York

New York state has a relatively long history of wine-making and vineyard cultivation, with vineyards in the region dating back to the Dutch settlements of the 17th century. As such, the region has slowly discovered the unique qualities of their terroir, and has developed a distinctive set of grape varietals which have gone on to represent the state and make their wines both unique and highly regarded. New York state has four key wine producing areas – Lake Erie AVA, Finger Lakes AVA, Hudson River and Long Island, each making the most of their relatively cool climate and characterful terroirs. The strong blend of both traditional and contemporary wine making methods found in this region has led to New York state being responsible for many of the finest and most interesting wines to come out of the United States.
fields

Country: United States

The first European settlers to consider growing grapevines in the United States must have been delighted when they discovered the now famous wine regions within California, Oregon and elsewhere. Not even in the Old World are there such fertile valleys, made ideal for vine cultivation by the blazing sunshine, long, hot summers and oceanic breezes. As such, it comes as little surprise that today more than eighty-nine percent of United States wines are grown in the valleys and on the mountainsides of California, where arguably some of the finest produce in the world is found. However, American wine does not begin and end with California, and due to the vast size of the country and the incredible range of terrains and climates found within the United States, there is probably no other country on earth which produces such a massive diversity of wines. From ice wines in the northern states, to sparkling wines, aromatized wines, fortified wines, reds, whites, rosés and more, the United States has endless surprises in store for lovers of New World wines.
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More Details
green grapes

Varietal: Merlot

Merlot has long been a grape associated with excellent quality of character and flavor, and has spread around the globe as a result of its relative hardiness and reliability. From Chile to Bordeaux, Merlot vines grow to ripeness, and end up producing a remarkably wide variety of wines. Single variety wines made from Merlot grapes tend to be beautifully rich in color, and packed full of jammy, hedgerow flavors and notes of plum and currant, and ideal for newcomers to red wines as a result of their medium body. This medium body comes about due to the fact that the skin of Merlot grapes tends to be quite thin, meaning that the tannin content of Merlot wines is lower than those made from other blue-black grapes. The mellowness and roundedness which results is ideal for blending, also, and Merlot is used as a blending grape in some of the world's finest wineries, to produce aged wines of exceptional character.
barrel

Region: New York

New York state has a relatively long history of wine-making and vineyard cultivation, with vineyards in the region dating back to the Dutch settlements of the 17th century. As such, the region has slowly discovered the unique qualities of their terroir, and has developed a distinctive set of grape varietals which have gone on to represent the state and make their wines both unique and highly regarded. New York state has four key wine producing areas – Lake Erie AVA, Finger Lakes AVA, Hudson River and Long Island, each making the most of their relatively cool climate and characterful terroirs. The strong blend of both traditional and contemporary wine making methods found in this region has led to New York state being responsible for many of the finest and most interesting wines to come out of the United States.
fields

Country: United States

The first European settlers to consider growing grapevines in the United States must have been delighted when they discovered the now famous wine regions within California, Oregon and elsewhere. Not even in the Old World are there such fertile valleys, made ideal for vine cultivation by the blazing sunshine, long, hot summers and oceanic breezes. As such, it comes as little surprise that today more than eighty-nine percent of United States wines are grown in the valleys and on the mountainsides of California, where arguably some of the finest produce in the world is found. However, American wine does not begin and end with California, and due to the vast size of the country and the incredible range of terrains and climates found within the United States, there is probably no other country on earth which produces such a massive diversity of wines. From ice wines in the northern states, to sparkling wines, aromatized wines, fortified wines, reds, whites, rosés and more, the United States has endless surprises in store for lovers of New World wines.