Trefethen Merlot 2015
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Wilfred
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Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
This 2015 Merlot sets the standard for elegance with a perfume of red fruits and earthy notes and flavors of raspberry, plum, and black pepper. On the palate, the wine is silky yet bright, a classic Trefethen.
Delicious with duck, barbecued chicken, lamb dishes, tomato-based pasta and mushroom pizza. A dash of freshly ground black pepper over a dish creates a lovely combination with our Merlot.
Blend: 95% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Generous on the nose with ripe blackberry fruit, delicate oak and a smoky herbal note. Well textured on the palate with acidity providing good balance. Youthful but will age.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The Trefethen Family Vineyards Merlot is one wine that I could always count on, and serve with confidence. The 2015 vintage shows excellent varietal integrity. TASTING NOTES. This wine is à point and does not try to overpower the senses. Its aromas and flavors offer a lovely purity of ripe red fruits, black licorice, and a light touch of oak. Its fine balance should pair nicely with a flavorful Porchetta pork roast. (Tasted: August 27, 2018, San Francisco, CA)
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Tasting Panel
Gentle plum nose; luscious and softly tannic with bright fruit and tangy style; dense and racy; a solid effort from this Napa leader.
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James
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Wilfred
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Wine
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Wilfred
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James
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With generous fruit and supple tannins, Merlot is made in a range of styles from everyday-drinking to world-renowned and age-worthy. Merlot is the dominant variety in the wines from Bordeaux’s Right Bank regions of St. Emilion and Pomerol, where it is often blended with Cabernet Franc to spectacular result. Merlot also frequently shines on its own, particularly in California’s Napa Valley. Somm Secret—As much as Miles derided the variety in the 2004 film, Sideways, his prized 1961 Château Cheval Blanc is actually a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
As one of Napa’s coolest sub-appellations, the area begs for diversity among its vineyards. Merlot and Chardonnay firmly compete with Cabernet Sauvignon for a place here. Some of Napa’s best Zinfandels also come from the Oak Knoll District.
Situated far in Napa’s southern end, Oak Knoll receives a strong cooling influence from both the San Pablo Bay and the Pacific Coast’s evening fog and breezes. Summer days are warm but on average ten degrees cooler than in St. Helena farther north up the valley; summer nights are chilly. A long growing season promotes for leisurely ripening of grape berries, resulting in an impressive balance of sugars, phenols and acidity.
Notable producers include Trefethen, one of the appellation’s oldest wineries, Robert Biale, legendary Zinfandel producer and Lewis Cellars, a family-run, hands-on establishment.