Beaulieu Merlot Napa Valley 2016 750 ML

Intriguing nuances of dark chocolate and dried Marasca cherries layer the ripe plum and blackberry notes of the Napa Valley Merlot. As you swirl the wine, you’ll also discover hints of black mission fig and licorice. On the palate, the textured flavors are plush and graceful, yet with ample structure. A year of aging in oak barrels sourced from three different counties added hints of sweet oak spices and espresso.

Producer Information
Beaulieu Vineyard is a historically significant winery in California’s Rutherford AVA that has been producing wine for more than a century. During Prohibition, it managed to obtain a contract to supply sacramental wine to churches, meaning it was able to remain in production between 1920 and 1933 when the Volstead Act was repealed. This makes Beaulieu one of the longest continually operational wineries in the United States. The company was founded in 1900 by Georges de Latour with the assistance of enologist André Tchelistcheff. Tchelistcheff went on to create the prestige cuvée Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, and mentored many of the next generation of Napa winemakers, including Robert Mondavi, Mike Grgich and Joe Heitz. The company is currently part of Treasury Wine Estates. The Beaulieu vineyards sit at the foot of the Mayacamas Mountains in the Rutherford AVA, and are planted with Bordeaux varieties, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Malbec. As well as these plots, Beaulieu has vines in the St Helena, Calistoga and Carneros AVAs. There are many different varieties planted throughout these vineyards – Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Marsanne and Roussane, Mourvedre, Touriga Nacional, Merlot and Sangiovese. The flagship Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is hand-picked in the vineyard prior to fermentation in French oak barrels, concrete tanks and stainless steel tanks. After a period of barrel-aging, a selection of the top ten barrels are selected for bottling. The remaining Reserve collection is composed of varietal single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon wines sourced from various estate vineyards whilst the Napa Valley is the entry level range of a duo of Cabernet Sauviognon and Chardonnay.