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Once America’s favorite red wine, it faced a cultural downturn, only to stage a remarkable comeback focused on quality, terroir, and classic expression. Today, Napa Merlot stands as a testament to thoughtful viticulture and winemaking, offering wines of profound depth,
Both are legendary red wines, both are crowned with the highest Italian designation of DOCG, and both command respect, price, and age-worthiness. Yet, they hail from different worlds, offering distinct expressions of place, grape, and tradition. This is a comparison
Merlot is renowned for its approachable, fruit-forward profile. In its classic expressions from regions like Bordeaux’s Right Bank (e.g., Pomerol and Saint-Émilion), it produces wines with plush textures and aromas of ripe plums, black cherries, and herbal notes. Its success
Traditionally, Merlot thrives in a “Goldilocks zone”—it must avoid the under-ripeness of a cool climate and the over-ripeness of a hot one. In its classic expression, it offers a harmonious balance of red fruit flavors (like cherry and raspberry), supple