Merlot and Cabernet Franc… are there more food-friendly red wines out there? Well, what happens when you combine the two in a bright, beautifully balanced, fruit-forward wine?

You get today’s Rua Wines 2013 Napa Valley Red Wine, the worthy follow-up to the killer Rua that we featured back in 2014.

Why the long absence from our pages? Those in-demand Rua wines are hard to come by! Which is why we persisted in staying in touch with the winery. Our begging has paid off for you, so please be sure to take advantage of this special offer on this very tasty steal of a wine.

Spice, dark fruit and earthiness waft from the glass, detectable before you even raise it to your nose. Bing cherry, spiced cherry candy, blackberry, raspberry, darkly toasted oak, baking spice, summer forest and baker’s chocolate are all in perfect balance here.

The palate is darkly juicy and perfectly spiced, with Bing cherry, blackberry juice, cranberry, red currant, toasty cedar, sweetwood, baker’s chocolate, dried fall leaves, grilled fig, dried herbs, spice box and black pepper.

Note that every bottle comes with the special bottle stopper shown in the photograph. Use this to preserve unfinished wine… Like that would ever happen!

Enjoy!