Markham Vineyards Napa Valley Merlot 2022 750ml

Markham Vineyards is a Napa Valley winery. This Napa Valley Merlot is its regional bottling, sitting below its single-vineyard Marked Parcels and District Series Merlots, and about a third of the fruit comes from estate vineyards.

The 2022 is 95% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Malbec, with the Merlot drawn from Yountville Ranch, Little Cannon and Rockerbox. It was fermented entirely in stainless steel with 17 days on the skins, then aged 18 months in oak, 30% of it new. It's 14.5% alcohol.

The winery describes aromas of cherry, plum and tea with toasty oak, then ripe plum and cherry jam with spicy oak, lively acidity and a long, round finish. James Suckling notes ripe dark berries, sweet spices, dried herbs and walnuts, and Wine Spectator finds it tightly focused and trim, with red currant, cedar and bay leaf.

Against Duckhorn Napa Valley Merlot 2022, Markham costs about half as much; for an everyday Napa Merlot, choose Markham.

Wine Spectator suggests drinking it now through 2031. Serve it with roast chicken, pork chops or mushroom risotto.

Browse more Merlot and our Napa Valley wine. Pick it up at our Brooklyn store or get same-day delivery in Brooklyn, Manhattan & Queens.