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Beringer, Napa Valley Merlot Bancroft Ranch Howell Mountain, 1999

Red Wine from California, United States
by Beringer
$119.99
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Twenty-seven years on, this is Howell Mountain Merlot with the frame of a mountain Cabernet and the time in bottle to have softened it. Bancroft Ranch sits at 1,800 feet on Howell Mountain's western slopes, above the fog line in well-drained volcanic soil that yields tiny berries with a high skin-to-fruit ratio; Beringer first vinified fruit here in 1986 and has bottled it as a vineyard-designated Merlot since the 1987 vintage. Longtime winemaster Ed Sbragia described the site's signature as an all-around richness, blackberry and blueberry over earth, with anise, tobacco and leather emerging as the wine matures. The 1999 Napa growing season was mostly cool and finished by a late burst of heat, giving wines that were lively and aromatically complex rather than blockbusters, with the acidity and tannin to go the distance. A well-stored bottle should be fully mature now and drinking in the heart of its window. Decant off the sediment an hour or two ahead.

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Antonio Galloni

90 points

"Red-ruby. Burnished oak, plum, minerals and bitter chocolate on the nose. Sweet, lush and concentrated, with a firm mineral spine contributing to the impression of structure. Finishes with big, chewy, ripe tannins and excellent persistence." —Stephen Tanzer

Robert Parker

85 points

"The dark ruby/purple-colored 1999 Merlot Bancroft Ranch (91% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc) exhibits clean, medium-bodied flavors with little persistence or depth.The single vineyard Merlot from the Bancroft Ranch on Howell Mountain is aged in 100% new French oak. It was sensational in 1997, but the cool growing climates of 1998, 1999, and 2000 hampered the ability for this vineyard to achieve full ripeness." —Robert M. Parker, Jr.

More about Beringer

Wine Details

  • Grape Variety

    Merlot

  • Vintage

    1999

  • Size

    750ml

  • Sweetness

    Dry

  • Body

    Full Bodied

Flatiron's Take

From the Importer

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Tasting Notes & Food Pairings

Perfect Pairings

Rare rib-eye, braised short ribs, duck breast with cherries, wild mushroom risotto, or aged Gouda.

Tasting Profile

Blackberry and blueberry turned dried and savory, with anise, tobacco, cedar and forest floor. Full-bodied but resolved, with soft tannins, steady acidity and a long, earthy finish.