Best Merlot Wine Rated 90+ Points For Every Budget

Merlot is one of the world’s most important grapes both as a single varietal and as a blending grape. From Bordeaux to Napa Valley and now in South America, Merlot wine is regaining it’s rightful place among some of the world’s greatest wines. Browse our selection of the best Merlot wine to find the perfect bottle to fit your palate. (Read more)

A few wineries, a decade or so ago, over planted the grape to churn out watered-down, jug wine. These days, some of the best Merlot is grown in mountainous regions and can be almost Cabernet like with more structure and tannins. Merlot wine can also be produced in a velvety, opulent and silky style with softer fruit flavors of plum and blackberry from areas such as Napa Valley. You can browse our broad selection of Merlot wines rated 90+ points to ensure you buy the best Merlot wine that the wine world has to offer.

merlot columbia crest h3 2010

2010 Columbia Crest

"Supple and spicy, with a plush-textured, dark-hued, blackberry-rich mouthful lingering against creamy oak notes on the long and polished finish. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah."

merlot falesco 2010

2010 Falesco

"Possesses lovely inner perfume and expressive dark fruit. The wine retains its freshness and vibrancy through to the finish, where fragrant white flowers add lift."

2010 Cuvelier

The 2010 Collecion Merlot offers up a fragrant perfume of oak, red fruits, and a touch of herbs and balsamic. With excellent richness and length, it offers outstanding value in a wine that is meant for drinking over the next 5-7 years.

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2009 Milbrandt

Ripe and broad, offering a plush-textured mouthful of red berry, Italian plum, prune and spice flavors, lingering on the intensely focused, toasty finish. Drink now through 2017.

merlot burgess 2008

2008 Burgess

"From the Burgess estate vineyard just south of Yountville, a valley floor site planted on alluvial runoff from Mt. Veeder, this wine offers plush ripeness while sustaining fresh red currant flavors. It is Merlot in the elegance and gentleness of its tannins, the fatness of its fruit and the firm persistence of flavor."

merlot star lane 2007

2007 Star Lane

"Ripeness when balanced by fruit is no crime, but this ripe and very rich wine at least thinks about sinning, and, if it starts out with lots of flashy oak and sweet fruit, it straightens up and flies right thanks to its firm spine of vaguely Cabernet-like tannins."

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2009 Sbragia Family Vineyards

(blended with 4% cabernet franc; 50% new oak, down from 100% previously): Good medium red. Aromas of raspberry, milk chocolate and graphite minerality. Dense, savory and energetic, with a restrained quality to the berry, chocolate and graphite flavors. A serious merlot with a classically dry finish. This is only the second merlot label Ed Sbragia has made in his long and illustrious career, following the Bancroft Ranch merlot bottlings he made for many years at Beringer.

2008-l

2008 L'Ecole No. 41

Not your average mid-priced Merlot, this complex and well-crafted blend includes 12% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec. Young, sappy red fruits lead into a wine with depth and substance, annotated with highlights of citrus and steel. Nuances keep coming on... black cherry, licoriceq and iron filings. A delight.

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2009 Neyers

Dark red. Sexy aromas of red cherry, mocha and caramel, lifted by a floral nuance. Silky and lush in the mouth, with lovely aromatic perfume to the flavors of cherry, raspberry, flowers, cocoa and dusty spices. A nicely balanced, lively merlot that finishes with a fine dusting of suave tannins and subtle persistence.

2010 Frog's Leap

"The tannins feel completely mature, providing a lovely underlying roundness to the plump fruit. Those tannins seem sweet, like a fruity mushroom, while the anise and herb-scented fruit itself is savory. Aclassic Rutherford red."

merlot selene 2009

2009 Selene

"a gorgeous wine. Juicy dark cherries, violets, licorice and mint are some of the nuances that flow across the palate in this beautifully delineated, refined wine. The estate’s Merlot shows fabulous class and tons of personality. Tobacco, flowers and mint linger on the finish. This is a mid-weight, polished style of Merlot loaded with class.

merlot northstar walla walla 2008

2008 Northstar

"Silky in texture with notes of dark fruit and spice on the nose, leading into a palate rich with flavors of vanilla, chocolate, raspberry, and earth before a long, seductive finish.'

merlot keenan 2009

2009 Keenan

"This is a bigger, richer wine. There is an immediacy and a juiciness in this wine that is highly appealing. Hints of sweet tobacco, crushed flowers and incense are layered into the expressive finish."

merlot shafer 2009

2009 Shafer

"Supple, elegant and beautifully focused, with aromas of red currant and toasty vanilla that lead to ripe but sleek and layered flavors of black cherry, cinnamon and black tea. Tannins sneak in on the finish."

merlot coho michael black vineyard 2009

2009 Coho

"This is a super-ripe, opulent wine bursting with dark fruit, blackberry jam, spices and licorice. Despite its over the top style, the wine shows lovely balance and tons of class. There is no shortage of personality here. The blend is 98% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot."

Merlot Robert Keenan Reserve 2008

2008 Robert Keenan

The opaque ruby/purple-hued 2008 Robert Keenan Merlot Reserve Mailbox Vineyard is a stunning 350-case cuvee that competes with some of the finest Merlots made in Napa Valley. Almost crunchy, this juicy wine has vivid minerality, lots of sweet boysenberry and berry fruit intermixed with flowers, white chocolate and spice characteristics. Medium to full-bodied, substantial, elegant and pure, this beauty should be enjoyed over the next 10-15 years.

clos de betz betz family winery 2009

2009 Betz Family Winery

"Composed of 65% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 6% Petit Verdot. Opaque purple in color, it offers up a brooding bouquet of toasty oak, exotic spices, herbs, violets, black currant, and blackberry. Opulent on the palate, the wine has outstanding volume, a laser-like focus, layered fruit, and succulent flavors."

merlot pride mountain vineyards 2009

2009 Pride Mountain Vineyards

"Good bright medium-deep red. Sexy, expressive aromas of redcurrant, red plum, chocolate and nutty oak. Sweet and pliant in the mouth, with enticing flavors of red berries, cocoa powder and spices. Finishes with a fine dusting of tannins and lovely lingering perfume."

variation one arietta 2009

2009 Arietta

"58% Syrah and 42% Merlot. Bright red. Knockout sexy, wild nose combines crushed blackberry, minerals and game; I might have picked this as Hermitage. Then intensely flavored, sappy and powerful, with savory dark berry and game flavors framed and lifted by black peppery acidity. No easy sweetness here. Finishes very long, saline and firmly tannic, with resounding notes of pepper and game."

Merlot Robert Keenan Reserve 2008

2008 Robert Keenan

The 2008 Mernet Reserve Proprietary Red (350 cases produced) is composed of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon. I’ve never liked the name that much, but I sure love the wine. Another prodigious effort from Keenan, it boasts an inky/purple color as well as a sweet nose filled with blackberry, black currant and cherry fruit intermixed with mocha and chocolate. Full-bodied and rich with an enticing suppleness as well as admirable length and texture, it should drink well for 15 or more years. For those who haven’t noticed, Michael Keenan appears to be ratcheting up the quality with every new vintage. Bravo!

90 points or higher for all budgets

We demystify the wine buying process so you can purchase knowing you are getting a superb, high quality wine. All of our wines are rated 90 points or higher by at least one of the following industry experts:

Why do points matter? Learn about the point system.

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