Twomey Cellars Merlot 2014

This Merlot is a vivacious wine that displays ideal ripeness from a uniquely cool California vintage. It has a dark garnet color and a complex nose of cherry liqueur, dark chocolate, pipe tobacco, lavender, cloves, and hazelnut. On the palate, it has a velvety mouthfeel, a full body, beautiful acid balance, and a long, juicy finish. Given proper cellaring, this wine should give drinking pleasure through 2027.

Twomey Cellars originates in a single Napa Valley vineyard, the Soda Canyon Ranch, where Merlot grows with such extraordinary complexity that it calls for a wine of its own. To showcase the brilliance and balance of these grapes, winemaker Daniel Baron and the owners of the vineyard, Ray Duncan and his family, incorporate the Old World, labor-intensive approach used by classified growths in Bordeaux. Daniel Baron, who learned to make wine this way while working with some of the greatest winemakers and cellarworkers of Pomerol and St. Emilion, demonstrates that the meticulous care involved provides a pure reflection of the Duncan's vineyard.