Worth a Splurge Wine: Single Vineyard Excellence

Just because warmer weather is coming doesn’t mean that red wine fans will change their colors.  This month’s Worth a Splurge Wine is an elegant powerhouse wine from Nickel & Nickel, the sister vineyard to legendary Far Niente: the 2010 Nickel & Nickel Harris Vineyard Merlot.  Unlike many Napa Valley producers who prefer to blend their varietals, Nickel & Nickel’s wines each are sourced using a single varietal from a single vineyard.   The 2010 Harris Vineyard Merlot obtains its fruit from the Valley floor in the storied Oakville AVA adjacent to many big league Cabernet Sauvignon producers.  Like last month’s Worth a Splurge Wine from Meeker, the Nickel & Nickel Harris Vineyard Merlot is a full-bodied, polished wine.  Its flavor profile is black cherry, with hints of cocoa and oak, and it has sufficient tannin structure to age for several years.  Available for about $50, this beauty from Nickel & Nickel makes a compelling argument that Merlot can measure up to Cabernet Sauvignon when sourced from the right vineyard and produced with care by expertise.  This month’s issue of Wine Enthusiast awarded the wine a stellar 95 rating and raved thusly: “This is a great Merlot that’s intensely concentrated and dazzlingly rich…one of the best Merlots of the vintage.”