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Frog's Leap Winery, Library Release, Merlot (MAGNUM)

California, United States 1994 (1500mL)
$178.00
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Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol
SommSelect

Frog's Leap Winery, Library Release, Merlot (MAGNUM)


This wine is as perfect as aged Napa wines get and is considered one of the best Napa vintages of the last three decades. If you love old Bordeaux from top chateaux or the older vintages of timeless Napa classics like Heitz and Mayacamas, I promise you will love this perfectly aged treasure. This wine comes directly from the cold depths of Frog’s Leap cellar where its evolution has progressed slowly and purposefully. Today’s 1994 Frog’s Leap Merlot is a testament to that time-honored care and is available at a price you won’t find anywhere. Our incredibly small allocation will sell out today, so we must limit each customer to 6 bottles.

John Williams, legendary producer of the Merlot varietal, has been quoted as saying, “Almost a decade (and several foreign language versions) later, I think Sideways may have saved Merlot and ruined Pinot Noir – how’s that for irony?!” With Miles’ oft-repeated line, “I am not drinking any f***ing Merlot!” growers all over California ripped up Merlot vines and moved in a different direction, and the demand for one of the greatest and most classic varietals in the world crashed for a time. Fortunately, the over-cropped, fair-weather growers of the grape pulled their vines out of locales that didn’t work for the varietal anyhow and left the true producers behind to deliver something special. As John explains, “Planted in the right soil, farmed with respect and made with baby’s care, Merlot can make exquisite wine.” Case in point is John’s 1994 Frog’s Leap Merlot. As a matter of fact, John made this Merlot-led blend of 83% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc as an homage to the wines of Saint-Emilion and the right bank of Bordeaux.
 
Truly one of the most iconic producers of Merlot outside of Bordeaux, John Williams grew up on a dairy farm and took his Ag studies to Napa via the Greyhound line. He fell in love with winemaking, completed his Master's at UC Davis then worked his first winery job at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars for the vintage that won the famous Judgment of Paris tasting. He teamed up with Larry Turley to start Frog’s Leap in 1981, and the rest is history. Together in 1988, John and Larry were among the very first estates to be certified organic in all of Napa. John bought Larry’s interest in Frog’s Leap in 1993 and continued to push the envelope for quality and sustainability with solar power, green practices, and dry farming, which not only conserves water and reduces soil erosion, it promotes resilient, healthy vines as well. A true visionary, John Williams crafts his wine in a traditional, elegant style that is on par with the quality of the brightest lights of Bordeaux for a fraction of the price. Like Bordeaux, John’s wines are timeless and are designed to age unlike many of his neighbors in Napa. They reveal the majestic varietal as it is meant to be.
 
The 1994 Frog’s Leap Merlot displays a deep garnet red core that quickly moves to light garnet and orange reflections on the meniscus; it looks much younger than I would anticipate thanks to its perfect storage conditions. The nose is as classic and pure as any twenty-year-old, world-class Merlot should be, boasting aromas of dried cherry, preserved plum, a hint of cassis and dried red currant woven into dried violets, bay leaf, aged pipe tobacco, cedar, leather, turned earth and a touch of cacao all integrated with the perfect level of oak spices. The palate is medium-plus in body with a velvet mouthfeel, elegant structure without edges and endless layers that envelop the senses with rich, soft fruit and the perfect interplay of earth. The long and savory finish comes to a close at last with perfectly integrated oak and an intense satisfaction that continues to last. This beauty easily has a decade ahead of it but is entering its peak now. To enjoy, decant this wine for ten minutes, serve at cellar temperature and experience this wine evolve in the glass. If you’re not in a rush, simply pull the cork an hour before serving, and it will stay alive in the bottle all day. I would advise against decanting this wine and walking away for a long time. It will shed precious esters into the atmosphere that you should experience in your glass. Pairings are limitless with this wine, but I prefer an elegant, simplistic rendition of steak frites like this recipe here.
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Country
United States
Region
California
Sub-Region
United StatesNapa Valley
Farming
Organic
Blend
83% merlot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc
Alcohol
13.5
OAK
Partial New French

United States

Washington

Columbia Valley

Like many Washington wines, the “Columbia Valley” indication only tells part of the story: Columbia Valley covers a huge swath of Central
Washington, within which are a wide array of smaller AVAs (appellations).

Oregon

Willamette Valley

Oregon’s Willamette Valley has become an elite winegrowing zone in record time. Pioneering vintner David Lett, of The Eyrie Vineyard, planted the first Pinot Noir in the region in 1965, soon to be followed by a cadre of forward-thinking growers who (correctly) saw their wines as America’s answer to French
Burgundies. Today, the Willamette
Valley is indeed compared favorably to Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s spiritual home. And while Pinot Noir accounts for 64% of Oregon’s vineyard plantings, there are cool-climate whites that must not be missed.

California

Santa Barbara

Among the unique features of Santa Barbara County appellations like Ballard Canyon (a sub-zone of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA), is that it has a cool, Pacific-influenced climate juxtaposed with the intense luminosity of a southerly
latitude (the 34th parallel). Ballard Canyon has a more north-south orientation compared to most Santa Barbara AVAs, with soils of sandy
clay/loam and limestone.

California

Paso Robles

Situated at an elevation of 1,600 feet, it is rooted in soils of sandy loam and falls within the Highlands District of the Paso Robles AVA.

New York

North Fork

Wine growers and producers on Long Island’s North Fork have traditionally compared their terroir to that of Bordeaux and have focused on French varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

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