I had the opportunity to taste through ten wines from the well-known Napa winery Merryvale recently, courtesy of Rémy Cointreau USA Michigan Market Manager Dan Schultz, and the experience was most interesting. I doubt that I’ve sampled more than two selections from this producer in the last ten years, and frankly, found them to be rather different than I had expected.
Owned by Jack and Lilo Schlatter, operated by their son Rene, and located in St. Helena, CA in the first winery built following the repeal of prohibition, Merryvale sources fruit from Napa vineyards such as Ridgetop Estate, Showket, Star, Beckstoffer’s Georges III, Vineyard X and from Carneros, Las Amigas. The wines are made by Australian Larry Cherubino and 14-year Merryvale veteran Sean Foster; the winery is also in partnership with noted grower Andy Beckstoffer to produce wines for the Merryvale-Beckstoffer Vineyard label.
We started off with four whites before moving on to the reds; here are my snapshot impressions:
2005 Starmont Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, $18, 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 10% Semillon, 93% fermented in French oak barrels, 7% tank-fermented, 13.5% alc.: Medium straw color; slightly astringent, despite the obvious oak, with herbaceous, somewhat grassy apple and melon. Decidedly dry, nothing “fruit forward” about this. Sourced from vineyards including Riverview, Silverado-Milliken, Beckstoffer-Melrose and Juliana.
2005 Starmont Chardonnay, Napa Valley, $20, 13.5% alc.: Medium straw color; dusty (?!) apple and melon nose follows through on the palate with obvious, but not excessive oak. Balanced, very dry and like the Sauvignon, not at all fruit forward. Aged an average of seven months in French oak barrels (7% new); sourced from vineyards including Merryvale Estate-Stanly Ranch, Oak Knoll, Cofran-Johnson, Bayview-Poe, St. Andrews, and Red Hen.
2003 Reserve Chardonnay, Carneros, $29, 14.5% alc: Pale gold color; overt toasty oak (the only one of the wines tasted on this occasion to show as such) on the nose follows through on the palate, where it dominates the restrained pear-Chardonnay fruit. Good balance and acidity, but more wood than I care for. 17 months in French oak barrels (54% new); first seven months on primary yeast lees, stirred monthly before blending; ten additional months on light yeast lees, unstirred; sourced from Sangiacomo Vineyards, Bayview-Poe Ranch, Beckstoffer-Carneros Lake and Merryvale Estate-Stanly Ranch Vineyards.
2003 'Silhouette' Chardonnay, Napa Valley, $45, 14.5% alc.: Medium straw to pale gold color; reticent nose shows subtle honeyed pear, with flavors echoing politely. This is all about balance and finesse, and the oak doesn’t dominate as in the ’03 Carneros Reserve. 17 months in medium-plus toast French oak Burgundy barrels (70% new); first seven months on primary yeast lees, stirred monthly; last ten months on light yeast lees, unstirred; sourced from Milliken, Stanly Ranch and Beckstoffer-Carneros Lake Vineyards.
2003 Starmont Merlot, Napa Valley, 87% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Cabernet Franc, $24, 14.5% alc.: Dark garnet color; earthy, “sticks-y” red and black currant flavors and aromas, showing moderate oak at most. Restrained and balanced. Up to 16 months in French oak barrels (55% new); sourced from vineyards including Beckstoffer-Las Amigas and Orchard Avenue, Showket, O'Brien Family and Oak Knoll.
2001 Reserve Merlot, Napa Valley, 82% Merlot and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, $35, 14.5% alc.: Dark garnet color; earthy, “sticks-y” red and black currant flavors and aromas. Richer in character than the Starmont Merlot, but similar in profile, and well structured. 19 months in 100% French oak Bordeaux chateau ferre barrels (70% new); sourced from Beckstoffer-Las Amigas, ToKalon, Vineyard X and VI, O’Brien Family and Showket Vineyards.
2004 Starmont Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (no technical information available), approx. $27: Dark garnet color; earthy, briary black currant flavors and aromas, with no noticeable oak; balanced, almost Bordeaux-like in character.
2003 Merlot - Beckstoffer Las Amigas Vineyard, Carneros, Napa Valley, $39, 14.5% alc.: Dark garnet color; flavors and aromas show some subtle oak over red and black currants accented with sticks and subtle dark chocolate. Not at all fruit forward, with a classic claret-like character; well structured, with good promise for aging and development. 18 months in French oak Bordeaux chateau ferre barrels (66% new); sourced from Beckstoffer-Las Amigas Vineyard, Blocks D2 and D5.
2002 Cabernet Sauvignon - Beckstoffer Vineyard X, Oakville, Napa Valley, $75, 14.5% alc.: Deep, dark garnet color; the tight nose gives only a hint of the rich, earthy black currant and bitter chocolate flavors that follow. More Franco than Napa in personality, and well structured for bottle aging and development. Like the rest of the reds tasted here, this begs for a medium rare ribeye steak. 18 months in French oak Bordeaux chateau ferre barrels (100% new); sourced from Beckstoffer-Vineyard X, Blocks B, C and D.
'Antigua' Dessert Wine, 100% Muscat De Frontignan from vintages 1970 to 1983, 1992 to 1994, and fortified with fine pot-still brandy, $29, 18% alc.: Amber gold color; nutty toffee and orange peel flavors and aromas aren’t excessively heavy, or excessively sweet for that matter. It shows its high alcohol on the nose, but in a pleasing way, and again, is almost restrained in style. Aged in French oak barrels and tanks for an average of 11 years.
These wines all show a remarkably consistent house style, be they red, white or even the Antigua Dessert wine. They are obviously well made and reflect their high quality vineyard sources, but at the same time, they all show a restrained, not quite austere character; perhaps the best term to describe them might be “reserved.” They will no doubt pair well with food (I didn’t get the chance to try them with any), but still, with every one of these I kept looking for some little bit of excitement, and I just couldn’t find any. It would be interesting to spend some time getting to know some of these, and yes, drinking them with a meal; it would also be interesting to try an older model to see how they develop with age, but for now, I’ll have to stick with my impressions from this tasting, and those are only so-so.
Reporting from Day-twah,
geo t.
