The 2019 Merlot Vintner's Select is 100% Merlot but still blends fruit from both of the ranch's counties (it's 82% Napa and 18% Sonoma). Showing greater ripeness and purity than the regular bottling of Merlot, it oozes black cherries on the nose, tinged with cassis and hints of oak-derived scents of baking spices. Medium to full-bodied, it's ripe and expansive, flowing easily across the palate and leaving a plush trail of velvety texture and softly dusty tannins on the finish.

Composed of 100% Merlot, the 2017 Merlot Vintner's Select comes from 44% Sonoma County and 56% Napa County. Pale to medium garnet-purple colored, it sashays out of the glass with pretty notes of warm plums, kirsch and raspberry pie plus suggestions of chocolate box, star anise and wild sage with a waft of tobacco leaf. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is soft and juicy with lots of energetic red fruit sparks among the black berry flavors, finishing with an invigorating herbal lift. 489 cases were made.

The 2016 Merlot Vintner's Select is made of 100% Merlot aged in about 50% new oak, with 59% of the fruit coming from Napa County and 41% from Sonoma County. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it rocks up with bombastic notions of baked black plums, blueberry compote and boysenberries with hints of cloves, cinnamon toast, chocolate box and dried herbs. Medium to full-bodied, it completely fills the mouth with vivacious black fruits supported by plush tannins and finishing long and spicy. 558 cases were made.

Made from 100% Merlot, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Merlot Vintner's Select is flamboyantly scented of warmed black plums, blueberry compote, candied violets and exotic spices with hints of garrigue, fertile loam, licorice and black tea. Medium to full-bodied, the generous black fruits are beautifully perfumed with floral hints and framed by velvety tannins, finishing long and decadently spicy. 648 cases were made.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2014 Merlot Vintner's Select delivers notions of warm black plums, blueberry pie and spice cake with hints of anise, potpourri and menthol. Medium to full-bodied, soft, plush and oh-so-spicy in the mouth, it fills the palate with black fruit preserves and just enough freshness, finishing long with a minty kick. 561 cases were made.