2018 Grawlix Merlot Napa Valley 750 ml

The source vineyard behind the 2018 Grawlix Merlot is legendary in California—coming from perhaps Napa’s most famous and esteemed wine grower, whose fertile, postcard-perfect vineyards have launched nearly 40 (yes, FORTY) 100-point wines in the pages of Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.

It’s so good, this Grawlix wine was the go-to, by-the-glass pour on Broadway in 2019. With Broadway shuttered for the 2020 season, Wine Access members have an unprecedented opportunity to enjoy the final bottles of this release—a release that comes from sites that supply legends like Duckhorn and Stags Leap and captures the same Right Bank finesse we adore.

How we’re managing to sell this opaque, purple Napa wonder circles back to an eccentric, bearded, cantankerous winemaker that many of you know from previous Grawlix offers. An underground icon in California winemaking circles, he was trained by the best, apprenticed in Napa and St.-Émilion, yet he ultimately scorned the well-paying consulting circuit.

Instead, he holed up in the hills, where he crafts amazing value bottles largely consumed by the talented proletariat of America’s wine trail—the nameless, denim-clad cellar rats and vineyard managers who labor behind the scenes, yet are some of the country’s most astute judges of quality. 

The Carneros vineyard that sourced the fruit for this wine is low-yielding, eking out just 1.3 tons per acre on average. Because it’s near the San Francisco Bay, the soils are loamy and well-draining, the climate cool and maritime-influenced, teasing out ripening and allowing long, broad, fine-grained tannins to develop. Our friend’s connections still run deep in Napa, allowing him to acquire this coveted, famous fruit at a steal and pass the savings on to us—even if he was three whiskeys deep.  

22 months in 25% new French oak gives this wine its swirl of spice and luscious mouthfeel. This is one Napa red that demands stocking up.