A velvety merlot from an acclaimed female winemaker
Merlot deserves a second glance, particularly this plush, velvety number.
Great Wine Values
Markham Merlot Napa Valley, California
$21.99
14.6% alcohol
PLCB Item #7797
Sale price through 2/25 – regularly $25.99
With International Women’s Day coming up, now is a great time to stock up on wines made by women winemakers. Markham Vineyards’ winemaker Kimberlee Nicholls was a pioneer when she entered the profession in Napa Valley three decades ago. Today, when only 12% of Napa winemakers are female, Nicholls leads one of the appellation’s only majority female winemaking and vine-growing teams. The winery is located at the northern end of Napa Valley between the wine tourism hotspots of St. Helena and Calistoga, and maintains an unwavering commitment to the merlot grape.
When merlot was the “it grape” of the ’90s, Markham was one of the most reliable blue chip brands found in restaurants and retail stores across the country. Today, Markham’s merlots are still just as good, if not better. It would be hard to find better value for the dollar in Napa Valley than this wine at its regular price, let alone this month’s special discount that expires on Sunday.
Merlot is unquestionably one of the greatest wine grapes of all time, and one that performs brilliantly in blind taste tests. However, American wine drinkers have been led to assume that merlot wines aren’t as good as their cabernet sauvignon or pinot noir rivals. Napa Valley cabernet sauvignons at this quality level can easily command twice the price, simply based on their greater cachet in the current wine market. Where many merlot growers have thrown up their hands and re-labeled their wines as “red blends,” Markham has kept the faith with their reliable quality standards and excellent fruit sources. This wine is dense and concentrated, with flavors of black cherries, dark chocolate, and wild berry preserves. Plush and velvety in texture with a sophisticated gloss of new oak aging, it’s a pleasure to see this wine still going strong with its head held high.
Also available at:
Traino’s Wine & Spirits in Mt. Laurel and Voorhees, $22.99
Knast Liquor in Pennsauken, $23.99
Joe Canal’s in Lawrenceville, $23.99