Merlot

For the 2015 Best of Sonoma Lists we surveyed hundreds of local vintners asking for their inside perspective of the best wines, tasting rooms, and restaurants in Sonoma. There are certain Merlots that no self-respecting wine connoisseur can leave Sonoma without trying. To help hone the list to the top producers, we asked over a hundred local vintners to recommend their top Sonoma Merlots (under $100).

When the wines of Bordeaux were classified in 1855 all of the wines were from the Left Bank of the Gironde River. In fact, with the exception of Haut Brion, which is from Graves, all of the wines classified were from the Medoc. Since that time, the winemaking areas of Bordeaux have greatly expanded. Some of the best wines in Bordeaux are now made on the Right Bank including some of the most expensive wines in the entire world. While there is no official classification system for all of Bordeaux, there can be no doubt that if such a system was implemented today, at least a few Right Bank wineries would make the list. Perhaps no winery deserves the mythical first growth of the Right Bank title more than Cheval Blanc. In fact, the wines of Saint Émilion, a commune on the Right Bank, were ranked in 1955 and Cheval Blanc was one of two that received the highest rank of Premier Grand Cru Classé (A). Those rankings were redone in 1969, 1986, and 1996 and most recently in 2006 (although that ranking is the subject of an ongoing legal dispute not relevant to Cheval Blanc) and Cheval Blanc has remained a First Growth in every subsequent ranking.

IntoWine asked a panel of wine experts for their best Merlot recommendation taking cost into consideration: Great Merlots from Napa Valley easily run $50 to $75 and higher. The best value recommendations for Merlots that I’ve rated 92 points or higher in the last couple years—the only two that can be found for under $30—are the ’09 Fields Family from Napa Valley’s Oak Knoll Distric (92+ points, averages $26) and a delicious, complex Merlot from Slovenia, the 2008 Batič (92+ points; $29). Among Merlots I’ve rated 90 to 91+ points in the last couple years, the best values are Merryvale’s Starmont (averages $24, 91 points), Frostwatch Bennett Valley ($28, 91+ points), Waterbrook Reserve Columbia Valley, Washington ($23, 90 points), Field Stone Alexander Valley ($17, 90 points), and Wildhurst Reserve Lake County ($15, 90+ points). Richard Jennings, IntoWine.com Featured Contributor and the Founder RJonWine.com.