WARNING: Proceed only if you crave BARE KNUCKLE BRUISER STYLE MERLOT. The kind you can put against Pride or Pahlmeyer. The type to give many big-name Napa Cabs a serious inferiority complex.

And a MASSIVE discount too. We full nelson atomic-dropped that to the tune of $66 OFF per bottle - taking it from $110 to $44. Macho Man approves!

This comes from a renowned Napa icon - Rutherford Hill Estate. They make an assortment of Merlot from various locations - Atlas Peak, Oakville, and Stag’s Leap. But this is the big dawg, the Alpha of the pack. It gets the special treatment, and as they say on the website: “Our Cask Reserve Merlot is the pinnacle of our wines, showcasing the powerful and age-worthiness of this legendary varietal.”

It has the stuffing to go toe to toe against a top Napa Merlot like Switchback Ridge, La Jota, or Duckhorn.

Rutherford Hill is one of those fixtures in Napa. An old giant hanging out quietly up the Silverado Trail just doing its thing for almost 50 years. You can easily miss the sign as you cruise up, but a visit to this winery will take you straight back to 1972 when they were formed. The faces have changed but the wine has been insanely consistent. Marisa Taylor started out at Williams Selyem and has been making these wines for 17 years now. And while they make a lot of wine, this one was just 600 cases made.

Pop the cork and get ready for a foot-stomping “we will rock you” barrage of Cab-like power. It has serious structural heft, and endless concentration with complexity to spare. Deep black/red in the glass, it’s medium to full-bodied and jamming with smoky blackberries and crushed plums, a dusting of dark chocolate, roasted coffee beans, and some Asian five-spice. Beautifully integrated oak, with a little age it’s just settling into a comfortable drinking window.

This wine was intended to be sold only at the winery. However, came and went a pandemic, and there was this opportunity to grab what we could for you. Its exclusivity is why finding a rating or review on it out there is near impossible.

We did find one for the consistently similar and recently released 2016, so we’ll leave you with that spot-on tasting note from International Wine Report: “begins with a dusting of cocoa powder followed by anise and black tea aromas that all collide together in the glass. The soft texture imparted is really outstanding, as is the bright beam of acidity that runs through the wine. Chocolate-covered dark cherries, crème de cassis, and savory tomato leaf flavors mingle with the dusty terroir and minerals. Beautiful now, this Merlot should cellar nicely for a decade or more. Be sure to give this an hour decant if enjoying in its youth.”

Agreed. Also, be sure to grab what you can today, it’s not gonna last long.