2005 NAPA Valley Front Porch Merlot

by Wootbot

Two Faces of Napa Valley

When it comes to bringing together lonely grapes to make a love connection, Trent Moffett is the Chuck Woolery of the wine world.

We’ve told you all about how C&T winemaker Trent Moffett is a négociant winemaker who tracks down the best available grapes and wines from established producers, at the best available prices. And Trent himself introduced you to the ins and outs of négociant winemaking as a Wine.Woot guest blogger. C&T’s watchword is “the best possible wines at the best possible price”, a philosophy we find ourselves in total agreement with.

So this C&T Cellars 2005 Front Porch Merlot is made from grapes from two different appellations within Napa Valley, Oak Knoll and St. Helena. (That’s one hell of a long Front Porch.) Producers like Blackbird Vineyards are putting Oak Knoll on the map for Merlot. While St. Helena is usually synonymous with Cabernet Sauvignon, it also boasts the right conditions for great Merlot. The fact that neither is yet considered a world-class Merlot region is why C&T was able to scoop this fruit up so cheaply. We’re in the lag between reality and reputation here, so enjoy it before everybody else finds out and ruins everything.

Because in a perfectly just world, populated by people with complete knowledge and impeccable judgment, you’d be paying a lot more for this dark, aromatic Merlot. A chocolate, coffee, and blackberry nose is augmented with hints of vanilla. The palate is bigger and richer than noted country duo Big & Rich, with prominent fruit flavors like blackberry and black cherry leading to a spicy, mocha-tinged, mouth-watering finish. Sure tastes like more than thirteen bucks a bottle to us.

C & T Cellars Merlot

VINEYARD:  Napa Valley:  Oak Knoll District and the St. Helena appellation

BLEND: 96% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon V

PRODUCTION: 1,588 cases

Rules and restrictions:

Thanks to stick-in-the-mud buzzkilling state legislators, wine may only be delivered to the following states:

If your state's not on the list, you're out of luck... for now. Keep up with the ever-changing laws over at ShipCompliantBlog.com, and/or sound the alarms with your state assembly person through FreeTheGrapes.org. Meanwhile, all Federal, state and local laws are complied with in providing this wine.