2021 Benevolent Neglect Red Wine Wheeler Ranch San Benito 750 ml

Winemaker Matt Nagy is behind some of Napa Valley’s most renowned wines, but the bottles he makes on his own, his ultimate labor of love—that’s Benevolent Neglect. And the bottle he crafted specially for our members—that’s the tiny-batch 2021 Wheeler Ranch Red.

A joint project with our expert team, it’s composed entirely of Merlot from a top-caliber site in the Pacific-influenced San Benito AVA, and it flashes the complex fruit and satiny tannins that we love in New World renditions of the variety, wraps them in floral and spice aromas, and underscores them with a vibrant acidity.

While warm-weather Merlots risk letting rich fruit run wild, San Benito’s terroir can elicit the grape’s complexity and elegance. This tiny region sits in the rolling hills east of Monterey and the Gabilán Range, where Pacific winds flow through gaps in the mountains, cooling the vines—and the organically farmed Wheeler Ranch is one of the region’s prime sites.

Matt and co-founder Ben Brenner don’t submit their wines for scores, but still, praise abounds. Their bottles are on the list at MICHELIN-three-star SingleThread and have earned plaudits from Jancis Robinson MW.

No surprise, considering Matt’s winemaking background. He’s worked alongside Thomas Rivers Brown, crafted 100-pointers at Seaver Vineyards, and spent time at Matthiasson, a leading proponent of employing a minimalist approach in the cellar. At Benevolent Neglect, his take on his exceptional grapes involves as little intervention as possible—hence the name. 

That approach turned out a brilliantly balanced Merlot, and one that puts San Benito’s impeccable terroir on full display.