The 1992 Merlot RCF Vineyard (a vineyard situated near the famed Eisele Vineyard in northern Napa Valley) is a super-intense, chocolatey, black-cherry-scented Merlot that is bursting with flavor, glycerin, and alcohol. This rich, chewy, sumptuous Merlot is even better from bottle than the cask sample I reviewed in issue #92. Expansive and round, it offers an up-front, flattering style. Drink it over the next 10-12 years. Fisher Vineyards, perched high in the mountains not far from the Sonoma/Napa county line, is making a bevy of profound wines that merit considerable interest. The rise in quality, complexity, and potential of Fisher's wines is one of the bright shining stories in recent California wine history. Proprietor Fred Fisher deserves considerable praise for moving his wines away from the tart, lean, highly acidified and processed, oenologically correct style, to wines bursting with personality, flavor, and high quality. Tel. (707) 539-7511; Fax (707) 539-3601.

The 1992 Merlot RCF Vineyard (a vineyard situated near the famed Eisele Vineyard in northern Napa Valley) is a super-intense, chocolatey, black-cherry-scented Merlot that is bursting with flavor, glycerin, and alcohol. This rich, chewy, sumptuous Merlot is even better from bottle than the cask sample I reviewed in issue #92. Expansive and round, it offers an up-front, flattering style. Drink it over the next 10-12 years. Fisher Vineyards, perched high in the mountains not far from the Sonoma/Napa county line, is making a bevy of profound wines that merit considerable interest. The rise in quality, complexity, and potential of Fisher's wines is one of the bright shining stories in recent California wine history. Proprietor Fred Fisher deserves considerable praise for moving his wines away from the tart, lean, highly acidified and processed, oenologically correct style, to wines bursting with personality, flavor, and high quality.Tel. (707) 539-7511; Fax (707) 539-3601.