As Yogi Berra used to say, “It’s déjà vu all over all over again.”  This is the sixth time in the last decade that we have featured Mietz Merlot. It's not because we're lazy and aren’t looking for new and unique wines; it’s because this wine is so darned good  that we would be fools not to feature it again. Keith Mietz's philosophy is that wines are made in the vineyard, a philosophy shared by many of the world's best winemakers. Keith's superb 1997 Merlot is a result of astute vineyard practices and minimal-intervention winemaking. 

 Bottled unfined and unfiltered, this year's version contains 82°/o Merlot from Keith’s eleven-acre Russian River Valley vineyard and 18% Cabernet from his two-acre Dry Creek Valley vineyard. The result is a wine with a deep ruby red color and a nose of sweet floral aromas with wild cherry fruit and warm toasty oak. On the palate, this fantastic Merlot exhibits stunning depth of richness with a spectrum of flavors ranging from sweet toasty oak to wild cherry and chocolate. This is what Merlot is supposed to taste like. Bravo Keith!