2019 Chad Merlot Incline 18 Sonoma Mountain 750 ml

On a damp November morning in 1999, the young Napa Valley winemaker drove south on Route 29 from St. Helena. He turned right at Oakville Grocery then downshifted, barreling up the Oakville Grade. About a half-hour later, now well into Sonoma County, he pulled to the side of the road. 

Looking down and to his left, he got his first look at a small vineyard, planted on rocky soils with an 18-degree incline, bracketed by forest. Critics believed the small-berry Merlot from the site to be the finest and most intensely structured on Sonoma Mountain. 

They’d get no argument from Chad.

For 20 years, our winemaker friend Chad persistently called the owners of that now-40-year-old parcel. In 2019, he hit pay dirt, securing six tons of stellar Merlot.

The 2019 growing season smiled on Chad’s prized site. A wet spring transitioned into a long, warm summer. Fog burned off early, bathing the organically farmed vines in bright sunshine. Despite the endless string of sunny days, there were no significant heat spikes. Refreshing winds kept the grape clusters clean and pert. Days turned cooler in the weeks leading up to harvest, stretching out the growing season to late September. 

At harvest, pickers set out in the chilly early morning hours, hauled Chad’s share to the sorting table, destemmed the bunches, then vinified the Merlot with twice-daily pumpovers before giving it a yearlong rest in oak. 

The “Incline 18” Merlot, which Chad named for the slope of the vineyard, clocks in at just above 14% ABV, but still has a vibrant 3.5 pH. Showing all the plushness, concentration, and complexity of great Merlot, it’s a lavish Right Bank lookalike.