Merlot doesn’t get much better than the remarkable juice from Nickel & Nickel’s Harris Vineyard. The nose is inviting, showing hints of cedar, spice and red fruit. On the palate the wine opens up and coats the palate with flavors of plum, raspberry and gentle toasty oak. The tannins are smooth and supple, yet the wine has the backbone to improve with age, though the temptation to drink it now might be difficult to resist. One of the great Merlots of the world, let alone California.
Nickel & Nickel, Oakville (Napa Valley, California) Merlot 2008
By Robert Whitley