2015 Studio Seven Fifty Merlot SBR Vineyard Calistoga Napa Valley 750 ml

“This is the very first wine I pour for Merlot lovers,” 750 founder Monica Stevens said as she filled our glasses with the inky, midnight-purple 2015 Studio Seven Fifty Merlot SBR Vineyard. We took a sip of the intense, dark-fruited wine and let its dark berries, graphite, and mineral-rich notes run their course on our palate. 

Monica’s the woman Robert M. Parker, Jr. called “the most connected person I know in Napa,” and as the lush, full-bodied Merlot conjured some of Napa Valley’s revered triple-digit-priced wines, she seemed to read our mind. “And it always has Cabernet lovers absolutely floored, too.” 

Monica knows every inch of Napa terroir and every winemaker worth knowing, and she channeled her unmatched connections into the custom-crafted Studio Seven Fifty line. Like every bottle in that lineup, the 2015 Merlot SBR Vineyard boasts impeccable vineyard pedigree. Grown on Switchback Ridge, a historic, strictly off-limits Calistoga vineyard that Parker said produces “one of Napa Valley’s finest Merlots,” the wine was ushered into bottle by one of the finest red-wine craftsmen in California: 99-point Purlieu winemaker Julien Fayard, whose marquee bottles commonly fetch $200+.

Up until this moment, the 2015 Studio Seven Fifty SBR Vineyard has only been available to the collectors who frequent 750 Wines, Monica’s by-appointment St. Helena wine shop. A stunning back-vintage release that captures a dreamlike combination of precious terroir, prestigious winemaking talent, and one of the greatest vintages of all time, it’s ONLY for Wine Access members.

Monica has orchestrated wines whose pedigree matches and exceeds the biggest labels in Napa Valley—and until now, they’ve only been available to a select few. But because of 750’s sterling reputation as the place where collectors can get the ungettable, Wine Access acquired the shop earlier this year. Now, our members have exclusive access to these custom-crafted bottlings. 

In 2015, the 97-point vintage that stands as one of the greatest in Napa Valley history, Monica paired Lafite alum Julien Fayard with the SBR Vineyard. This plot of land has been farmed by the Peterson family for more than a century, and it produces the Merlot that Parker called one of the Valley’s greatest. To most Napa Valley winemakers, scoring fruit from Peterson is simply not in the cards. 

But not when Monica Stevens is in the mix. For Studio Seven Fifty, Fayard crafted a tiny batch of Merlot that is now, after six years in the cellar, absolutely singing. The juicy, silky, intense wine is carried on a sturdy but softening frame of rich tannins, and it’s ready to delight fans of not only top-flight Napa Merlot, but those whose tastes run mainly to Cabernet. 

This is how it pays to be on the inside in Napa Valley. We’re thrilled to connect our Merlot, Cabernet, and California fans with this one-of-a-kind bottle.