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2016 Mt. Brave Merlot

Not Currently In Auction

Latest Sale Price

May 4, 2025 - $67

Estimate

RATINGS

96Jeb Dunnuck

...fleshy, and beautifully full-bodied, it has terrific notes of black fruits, chocolate, and underbrush, fine yet building tannins, a stacked mid-palate, and a great finish.

94The Wine Advocate

...sexy spiced plums, warm blueberries and potpourri scents with hints of fragrant earth, violets and dark chocolate. Full, rich, firm and oh-so-plush, it has a decadently fruited palate and a very long finish with some licorice hints coming through.

94Wine Spectator

Powerful, brooding and full of dark plum, dried blackberry and cherry flavors that feature notes of dark olive. Shows savory richness midpalate, with firm tannins on the finish, accented by dark chocolate details.

94Wine Enthusiast

This is a brawny, herbal and structured wine from the great appellation, as wild and challenging as its provenance. Cedar, dried herb and clove surround dense black currant, licorice and brambly blackberry, with sinewy tannin and toasted oak in abundance.

93Vinous / IWC

91James Suckling

This is a big and juicy red with lots of ripe forest fruit. Full-bodied, round and chewy.

PRODUCER

Mt. Brave

Mt. Brave was founded in 2007 on the upper reaches of Mt. Veeder. It is named for the native Wappo tribe, whose name translates as “the brave ones.” Mt. Brave is part of the Jackson Family Wines Collection, which, despite its roots in Napa Valley, now owns wineries around the world. The Mt. Brave vineyard ranges from 1,400 to 1,800 feet above sea level, meaning that part of it is above the famous fog line that moves into lower elevation vineyards. Chris Carpenter is the winemaker. He has worked for Lokoya, La Jota and Cardinale. The estate makes Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Merlot.

REGION

United States, California, Napa Valley, Mount Veeder

Mount Veeder AVA was established in 1993, though its origins as a wine producing district date to the 19th century. A German Presbyterian pastor named Peter Veeder was one of the first landowners in the area, and by 1864 one of his neighbors, a German sea captain named Stelham Wing, was producing wine commercially. The area continued to attract German agricultural entrepreneurs, some of whom established the estate that would later become the Christian Brothers Mont La Salle winery. Today the AVA includes about 1,000 acres of vineyards, most of them at relatively high altitudes. The Mayacamas vineyard, for instance, is at 2,400 feet. Cabernet Sauvignon is the most frequently planted grape, followed by Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

TYPE

Red Wine, Merlot

The Merlot grape is such a deep blue that it is named for the blackbird. It’s an early ripening grape and one of the primary varietals used In Bordeaux. Merlot is also grown in the "International style," which is harvested later to bring out more tannins and body.

VINTAGE

2016 Mt. Brave Merlot