2014 Selene Wines Merlot Frediani Vineyard 750 ml

“One of the Most Sought-after Winemaking Consultants in America”

When we got a call from winemaker Mia Klein about a potential 2014 Selene Merlot allocation for Wine Access, our excitement was palpable. We first fell in love with her wines back in 2007 after savoring a bottle of her Robert Parker 100-Point 2002 Dalla Valle “Maya.”

Klein is “one of the most sought-after winemaking consultants in America,” according to Food & Wine, which in the past named her “Winemaker of the Year.” Blue-chip wineries such as Araujo, Dalla Valle, Viader and Spottswoode have all put her on their payrolls, and reaped droves of high scores as a result.

Mia’s prowess with Bordeaux varieties has landed her on celebrated wine lists from The French Laundry to San Francisco’s A16, where Klein’s Merlot elbowed its way onto an Italian-dominated list. Ever since her days as Cathy Corison’s right hand at Chappellet, Klein’s acclaim has been growing, and one taste of the 2014 Selene Merlot Frediani Vineyard will tell you why. Marked by deep, pure fruit and vibrant acidity, this selection is a stunning alternative to Cabernet Sauvignon and a bottled “eureka” for Merlot cynics.

Equipped with a palate that Viader owner Delia Viader called “deadly accurate,” Klein’s mastery has allowed her to fill the shoes of legends like Tony Soter and Heidi Peterson Barrett. Her impeccable resume points to an uncanny ability to shape a wine’s character practically down to its molecules. She works with Merlot at Selene because, as she puts it, the varietal affords “lots of opportunity to craft unique, richly expressive wines.”

2014’s harvest — “a dream vintage,” according to Wine Spectator — provided Klein carte blanche to craft whatever she wished. “Every so often a wine comes along that I have to get my hand slapped, or I’ll drink it all,” she told us. “2014 is one of those vintages.”

Fruit for the 2014 Selene Merlot was drawn off the prized Frediani Vineyard in Calistoga, from old vines in low-fertility, rocky-gravel soils. As always, she deploys minimalist winemaking techniques to coax the terroir’s true voice from the fruit, and they have plenty to say. So will you after one sip of its excellence.