- Pride, Napa-Sonoma Counties, California, 2003
$100 - Shafer, Napa Valley, California, 2004 $85
- Spring Valley, "Uriah", Walla Walla Valley, Washington, 2004 $82
- Northstar, Walla Walla Valley, Washington, 2000 $85
- Ehlers, “Estate”, Napa Valley, California, 2004 $75
- L’Ecole No 41, “Seven Hills Vineyard”, Walla Walla Valley, Washington, 2005 $63
- Gordon Brothers, Columbia Valley, Washington, 2006 $52
- Wild Horse, Central Coast, California, 2005 $39
- Napa Cellars, Napa Valley, California, 2006 $39
- Columbia Crest, “Grand Estates”, Washington, 2006 $30
About Merlot
Merlot is a red wine grape that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. Merlot-based wines usually have medium body with hints of berry, plum, and currant. Its softness and "fleshiness", combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to be higher in tannin. Along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, Merlot is one of the primary grapes in Bordeaux wine where it is the most widely planted grape. Merlot is also one of the most popular red wine varietals in many markets.
It was first recorded in Italy around Venice under the synonym Bordò in 1855. The grape was introduced to the Swiss, from Bordeaux, sometime in the 19th century and was recorded in the Swiss canton of Ticino between 1905 and 1910. In the 1990s, Merlot saw a upswing of popularity in the United States. Red wine consumption, in general, increased in the US following the airing of the 60 Minutes report on the French Paradox and the potential health benefits of wine and the chemical resveratrol. The popularity of Merlot stemmed in part from the relative ease in pronouncing the wine as well as it softer, fruity profile that it made more approachable to some wine drinkers.
