TOP SECRET SPECIAL: Free Shipping on orders of six or more bottles. Use the promotion code SPYSHIP during checkout.

SPECIAL NOTE: This is a wine that has only recently been released. With the numerous awards that it has been winning, there was only a small quantity available to us. Please be sure to pick up this superb Merlot while we still have some on hand!

Mission Codename: Goodbye Pinot, Hello Merlot!

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Destroy the Hollywood myth that Merlot has lost its luster and that Pinot is the new king of wine – by spying a killer California Merlot

Mission Status: Accomplished

Current Winery: Godwin Family Vineyards

Wine Subject: 2001 Alexander Valley Merlot

Winemaker:

Backgrounder:
The movie, Sideways, singlehandedly brought Merlot sales to a virtual halt in the U.S. While we love Pinot Noir, as do the characters in the movie, we also love Merlot. Especially ones as fantastic as this one!

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Deepest ruby red, with crystalline edges and long thin legs

Smell – Big and ripe stone fruit, blackberry and raspberry jam, with a hint of earthy oak

Feel – Very balanced in the mouth. Sweet up front, then medium tannins nibble at the mid-tongue and the top of the mouth

Taste – Big fruit with blackberry, raspberry and plum, followed by raspberry jam

Finish – Long-lasting, all over mouth flavors and tannins that taper off beautifully

Conclusion – Whoever said Merlot was passé has obviously never tried this Merlot! It’s very easy to see why this wine has won SO MANY awards. It is superb and we love it. Merlot has, at last, been redeemed!

Mission Report:
The mission was simple, investigate wineries around Sonoma and Napa counties and retrieve an incredible Merlot and a great price. This, in order to turn the opinion of some that Merlot was no longer the great wine that it once was. This opinion, sadly, is as misguided as is possible; All wine varietals have their shining examples and their rotten grapes. What I needed was a Merlot that could sway opinions, and I found it in this spectacular Godwin Merlot from the Alexander Valley in Sonoma County, California.

I turned to one of my assets in the wine industry, Agent Stone, to help me in my quest. Almost immediately, he presented me with a single wine, rather than the half-dozen or so that I had expected.

“Are you sure you don’t want to taste me on other Merlot’s as well,” I asked him.

“This is the one,” He replied confidently.

With some skepticism I accepted the glass that he handed me. I was struck by the color and texture of this wine. It was beautiful. I went in for a sniff, and was struck by the aromatics of the wine. Right away, I could tell that my first sip would reveal a wine of flavor, character and rich complexity. I was right. Delicious and elegant, refined and filled with a kind of class that could give any Pinot in its price range a good run for its money.

That was that. I was convinced enough to procure the handful of remaining cases and I am thrilled to make them available to our agents. This is a precious Merlot that is worthy of your attention. Especially if you ever had any doubt that Merlot could be great.

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

While the exact location of the vineyard is a closely guarded secret (not really), the approximate location of the vineyard can be seen in this satellite photo

Wine Spies Technical Analysis:

BLEND
92% Alexander Valley, Moss Oak Vineyard Merlot
8% Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

FERMENTATION: 100% open top tank and punch down fermentation for 18 days

TOTAL ACIDITY" 5.84 g/lt

ALCOHOL: 14.2%

pH: 3.65

COOPERAGE: 22 months in 55% new French cooperage, barrel racked in quarterly intervals

BOTTLED: September 2003

PRODUCTION: 1,450 6-bottle cases

RELEASE DATE: November 2005