2014 Emmolo Merlot Napa Valley (Wagner Family of Wine) 750 ml

5:30 Wake-Up Call From the Wagner Family — Emmolo’s Quintessential Cab Drinker’s Merlot

On Tuesday, we were awoken by a phone call. We checked the clock: 5:30 a.m. We figured it must have been bad news; it was the opposite. Our groggy “Hello?” was answered by a bright and cheerful voice: “Hi! It’s Jenny! I know you’re coming by the winery at 10:30 a.m. today, but I’m heading to our Oak Knoll Vineyard in half an hour if you want to join me.” We scribbled the directions on a napkin, and were on the road in moments — that wasn’t just any “Jenny.”

If a member of the Wagner family extends an invitation to see one of their vineyards, no matter the hour, you accept the invitation. The Wagners have one of the most consistent and decorated dynasties among the Napa Valley families famous for growing grapes and making wine. We count ourselves among the privileged few they’ve allowed in for a closer look at their rigorous farming practices.

Jenny Wagner’s great-grandfather had a winery near what was then Rancho Caymus. Another great-grandfather arrived in Napa in 1906 from Alsace, and was up to 30,000 gallons of wine a year when Prohibition applied the brakes. Her grandfather, of course, is Charlie Wagner, who launched the modern Caymus in 1971 with his 19-year-old son, Chuck — Jenny’s dad. The rest is Napa history.

We were eager to see what this fifth-generation Napa vintner could do in her fourth vintage. The soon-to-be-released 2014 Emmolo Merlot shows how Jenny Wagner has perfected the abundantly rich Caymus house style — the hallmark of the $165/bottle Special Select Cabernet Sauvignon. Jenny sources grapes from two family-owned vineyards: Emmolo Oak Knoll and South 40 Ranch. And we’d be tasting a pre-release sample, right in the heart of the Oak Knoll property, with her.

We pulled up next to Jenny’s pickup just after 6 and followed her out into the Emmolo Oak Knoll vineyard just as the sky began to see bright blue streaks slice through the morning fog. Jenny has state-of-the-art lab results at her command, but even still, she wants to see and taste for herself that the grapes are ready to harvest.

“I’m looking for a soft leathery feel,” she said, handing us a few grapes, some dimpled, but with a kind of leathered texture, concentrated, rich and ripe. “I harvest at ripe levels, similar to our Cabernet Special Select.” The seeds were dark and crunchy, with no hint of bitterness, and the acids weren’t too tart. It’s these BB-sized Merlot berries that contribute the robust structure that makes Emmolo Merlot a steakhouse by-the-glass favorite.

Like most of the valley floor in the surrounding Oak Knoll District, the Emmolo vineyard is planted on alluvial soils intermixed with gravel and clay. The Oak Knoll District is far enough south to take full advantage of the morning fog that drifts in from the San Pablo Bay on summer mornings. Even in a warm vintage like 2014, that moderating influence takes the sting out of the summer sun.

Alternatively, the pink-hued, light and fluffy soils of the South 40 Ranch vineyard are composed of well-draining gravelly alluvial deposits. The Merlot vines planted there average 25 years in age, and yield BB-sized grapes that contribute decadent concentrated dark berry flavors. Emmolo is the quintessential Cab drinker’s Merlot, made in the same Caymus house-style. "When people try it, they are often surprised it is a Merlot,” Jenny said. “It’s a riper, more concentrated style, with lower acid and well-integrated oak."

Jenny considers 2014 a great vintage. “I would compare it to this year [2016]. It was warm, but not too hot. Ripening was on average a little early, but not as early as 2015. There was no early onset of rain, and the grapes fully ripened.” The 2014 Emmolo Merlot is a full-throttle, super-concentrated 100% Merlot. Inky dark with deep ruby color and purple hues, gorgeous perfumed aromas of violets and bright plum notes give way to an attack that is rich and creamy, redolent of black raspberries, plums and blueberries, tinged with savory tobacco spice. Soft, chalky tannins and firm acidity pave the way for a lengthy finish rounded out with candied cinnamon, mocha, and hints of nutmeg and caramel.

Robert Parker has been blown away by Jenny’s Emmolo Merlots, calling one a “pedal-to-the-metal Merlot” that “should win the hearts and minds of many California wine enthusiasts.” It has done that — and much more. Many of the country’s great steakhouses — from Sparks in NYC to Blackberry Farm in Tennessee, Charlie Palmer’s, Capital Grille, Morton’s, and STK at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, to name a few — consider it “the Cab drinker’s Merlot.”

Regularly $60. Only 600 bottles available for a short time today on WineAccess for $52/bottle. Shipping included on 4 or more.