McManis offers an excellent value in this California Merlot, and it's our go-to recommendation at this price point. The fine and bountiful 2012 harvest offered plenty of quality fruit, and grapes were brought in to the winery over the course of a month depending on the particulars of each vineyard source. The wine was fermented on the skins for approximately one week and aged for 6 months in a combination of new and used French and American oak barrels. From the winemaker: "Fruit forward with pretty blackberry aromas surround a bouquet of cream and a hint of baking spices. Juicy and concentrated, the lively mix of black fruit flavors are accompanied by the pleasant addition of a vanilla creamy texture, which has been contributed through oak aging. The wine is succulent and has a pleasing toasty finish."
