2001 Merryvale Starmont Merlot

Merryvale was founded in 1983 though the historic estate dates to the early 20th century. Located in St. Helena, the estate was built just after the repeal of prohibition. Today it is owned by the Schlatter family. Merryvale owns 25 acres of vineyards and grows Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Named after a building in San Francisco, the winery’s mission is to make Bordeaux-style wines. It makes about 10,000 cases of Merryvale annually, and about 90,000 cases of its second line, the Starmont label. Merryvale’s signature wines are Profile, a red Bordeaux blend, and Silhouette, a Burgundian Chardonnay. Wine Enthusiast rated the 2008 Profile at 97 pts and called it “a tremendous wine that shows how Merryvale is absolutely at the top of its game.”

Napa Valley AVA is the most famous winemaking region in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. With nearly 43,000 acres of vineyards and more than 300 wineries, it is the heart of fine wine production in the United States. Winemaking started in Napa in 1838 when George C. Yount planted grapes and began producing wine commercially. Other winemaking pioneers followed in the late 19th century, including the founders of Charles Krug, Schramsberg, Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyards. An infestation of phylloxera, an insect that attacks vine roots, and the onset of Prohibition nearly wiped out the nascent Napa wine industry in the early 20th century. But by the late 1950s and early 1960s Robert Mondavi and other visionaries were producing quality wines easily distinguishable from the mass-produced jug wines made in California’s Central Valley. Napa Valley’s AVA was established in 1983, and today there are 16 sub-appellations within the Napa Valley AVA. Many grapes grow well in Napa’s Mediterranean climate, but the region is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay is also very successfully cultivated, and about 30% of the AVA’s acreage is planted to white grapes, with the majority of those grapes being Chardonnay,

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.