Merus 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Wine Advocate

Merus’s 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits an inky/purple color as well as an extraordinary bouquet of blueberry liqueur intermixed with graphite, charcoal, cassis, and spice. The wood seems pushed to the background given the extraordinary concentration of fruit. Full-bodied, powerful, and rich with chocolaty espresso notes intermixed with blackberries and blueberries, this pure, impressively textured, long Cabernet should evolve for two decades. Score: 95 - Robert Parker.

Wine Spectator

Rich Ultrarich and concentrated, with tiers of earthy currant, anise, huckleberry, leather, gravel and sage, full-blown and progressively dry and earthy, somewhat offsetting the dense, pure core of Cabernet flavors. Drink now through 2017. 1,200 cases made. –JL 92 Points.

Wine Enthusiast

Made in the modern cult style, this soft, ripely lush Cabernet is immediately likeable for its blackberry-pie filling, black currant liqueur, chocolate, licorice and smoky sweet oak flavors. It’s California Cabernet at its heady, opulent best. Drink now. — S.H. (12/31/2010) — 92.

Type	Red
Varietal	Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec- Petit Verdot (1%)
Vintage	2007
Bottle size	750mL
Alcohol content	15.1%
Appellation	California – Napa Valley
Wine Advocate	95
Wine Enthusiast	92
Wine Spectator	92
Other	n/a

The Story
Merus began as the quintessential “garage wine,” made by Merus founders Erika J. Gottl and Mark Herold in the two-car garage behind their home in the town of Napa. The wine won international renown starting with its first vintage in 1998, but the garage imposed serious limitations. The very hands-on Merus winemaking regimen was cramped by lack of space, wine storage had to be outsourced, and legal restrictions barred visitors or tastings. When William Foley brought Merus into his Foley Family Wines group at the end of 2007, one of his first goals was to find a Napa Valley winery site worthy of the brand. A few months later he acquired a historic ranch tucked into a canyon on the east side of the valley. One of Napa’s fabled “ghost wineries,” it had been abandoned in the wake of Prohibition and only recently brought back to life.