2019 Whitehall Lane, Merlot, Napa Valley.
The dark purple/garnet and lush 2019 Whitehall Lane Napa Valley is a smooth and deeply opulent wine that is drinking fabulously well right now, it captures the varietal’s and region’s best character and qualities in the glass with lovely aromatics, a polished luxurious texture and has good depth and complexity with loads of dense black fruits, velvety tannins, a light dusting of spice and well judged oak use. This vintage of Whitehall Lane’s Merlot had a final blend of 87% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec, and 2% Petit Verdot, and the winery notes it has always utilized the art of blending to make their Merlot, which adds to the total enjoyment in the wine, especially in years like 2019 that was ripe, but also well balanced. The full bodied palate delivers classic blackberry, black cherry, plum and currant fruits along with hints of pencil lead, chocolate, sweet sandalwood, sage/spice, caramel, delicate pipe tobacco, licorice, dark floral notes and smoky vanilla. The Merlot, sourced from multiple parcels and areas within the Napa Valley, 100% de-stemmed saw a lengthy cold soak and was fermented using a selected culture and once dry it was pressed to 100% French oak with about 35% new wood used. The Napa Valley Merlot was allowed to mature in barrel for close to 20 months, after which it was bottled unfined and unfiltered, that adds up to a wine that is ready to please upon release, though this vintage looks to be rewarding for a decade, such is the structure and fruit density.
The Leonardini Family, owners of the famed Whitehall Lane Winery in St. Helena, as I mentioned in a recent review, originally founded this label mainly dedicated to Bordeaux varietals in 1979, then oversaw the 1989 re-planting of their 14 acre vineyard site right near the famous Harvest Inn and eventually bought the vineyard in 1993, forming their first true estate property. According to the winery, the area had been originally planted to black grapes in the late 1800’s when the Lewelling Family settled on a large tract of land on the southern outskirts of St. Helena. The old-time farmers of the area said that the soil, Cortina Gravely Loam, in this particular area was renowned for quality wine grapes, though much turmoil followed and it wasn’t until more recent times and better farming that the full potential was realized here and it was planted to mainly Cabernet Sauvignon. Like the winery itself, the vines are right off the Highway 29 that carves through the Napa Valley, on the western side on what has become one of the most iconic area in the wine world. As mentioned, I was a huge fan of the early 1990s wines here, drinking lots of Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and the Merlot, that has long been a great value offering, as well as visiting the winery when I was up in Napa, so it was great to taste their current offerings, which I highly recommend. Most recently Whitehall Lane added a series of small lot Tête Cuvée Cabernets, a brace of Pinot Noirs rom cool climate sites and a single varietal Petit Vedot, all of which I am excited to try.
($40 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive