The Wines / 2024 Merlot
Current release · California
Made with Saint-Émilion in the back of the mind rather than California convention in the front of it. Plum and cocoa, savory edges, tannin that carries a plate instead of fighting it.
750ml · 12×750ml case · SRP $24 · UPC 850055125193
Tasting
Black plum and dried cherry with cocoa nib, violet and a savory turn — tobacco leaf, damp forest floor.
Plush without slack. Dark red fruit rides a fine-grained tannin frame; the mid-palate is generous, the edges are dry and firm.
Graphite and espresso, tapering rather than crashing.
In the cellar
Picked earlier than most California Merlot to keep acid and aromatic detail, then fermented in small lots with gentle extraction — pump-overs rather than punch-downs, and an early press to stay clear of hard tannin.
Aged 12 months in 100% second-use French oak, in the same philosophy that runs through the Cabernet: barrels are there to shape the wine, not to flavor it.
| Vintage | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Appellation | California |
| Composition | 100% Merlot |
| Sourcing | Napa, Sonoma & Mendocino counties |
| Fermentation | Small-lot, temperature controlled |
| Oak | 12 months, 100% second-use French oak |
| Alcohol | 13.9% |
| pH / TA | 3.55 / 5.9 g/L |
| Residual sugar | 1.4 g/L |
| Closure | Cork |
| Winemaker | Robert Smith |
At the table
Fat and fruit meet cleanly — roast duck, porchetta, cider-braised shoulder.
The savory register makes this the rare red that respects a vegetarian main.
Comté, aged gouda, anything with crystalline crunch.
60–64°F. Thirty minutes open. Drink through 2032.
Merlot got punished in this country for being easy to like. That was never the grape’s fault.Robert Smith · Winemaker
Downloads
Tech sheet and high-resolution bottle shot for the 2024 Merlot.
Next in the collection