This wine is always very good, but I’m having trouble remembering a release quite as good as this one. It is big for Merlot (big for almost anything, frankly), but very nicely balanced by fresh acidity, and Merlot’s soft side gets supercharged here by the little bit of “wildness” that marks so many wines from Dry Creek Valley. Turns out Merlot benefits as much from that little sauvage edge as does Zinfandel. A Platinum Award winner at the 2021 Critics Challenge International Wine and Spirits Competition.
Frei Brothers, Dry Creek Valley (Sonoma County, California) Merlot 2018
By Michael Franz