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Wine Details
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Description:
Llano Estacado's Cellar Select Merlot is a rich bottle of wine displaying forward Merlot fruit such as cherry, mint, and plums. Made with the best Merlot in the cellar, this wine is one of the winery's fastest sellers. Cellar Select Merlot is a ripe, rich, smooth and supple wine. It is made after hand selecting the finest grapes of the vintage. A small amount of Carignane was blended with the Merlot to enhance flavor and body. The wine displays an excellent balance of approachable fruit and supporting tannins. Most distinctive are currant and plum flavors, rounded out with spicy oak notes in the background. We recommend serving it with pork, beef, tomato-based dishes and with chocolate deserts.
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Varietal Definition
Merlot:
Merlot is known as a Noble Bordeaux varietal. Although it came to France in the first century, it was not named until the 1880s. Merlot was originally used only for blending, as it is soft and compliant, very useful in softening other Bordeaux wines like Cabernets. Recently in California and Chile it became popular as a 100% varietal wine. Merlot tends to be easier to grow in a variety of soil conditions and is harvested earlier in the year than Cabernet. Although most Merlots are made to be drunk earlier, there are many with complexities of a Cabernet. Flavors of plum, black cherry, violet, chocolate and orange pair well with rich, red pasta dishes, hearty chicken dishes, and any beef combination that you fancy. The perfect match of course is chocolate. Not only does the chocolate compliment the wine and vice-versa, but the essence of both flavors linger eternally.
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Carignane:
Carignane is one of the world’s most prolific wine varieties. Thriving in warm climates, Carignane was until the late 1970s, the most widely-planted red variety in California. Hailing from Aragon, Spain, this grape is capable of deeply-colored, extracted and tannic wines of considerable alcohol. It is a late-budder and does not ripen until late in the season. Highly prone to mildew disease, it requires long, dry growing conditions. It is often used as a blending component with other, more anemic, hot-climate varieties, like Grenache and Cinsault, which typically lack the deep pigment and extract which Carignane brings to the blend.
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