The Griffin

This has to be the sleeper find so far. Surely "one heck of a Merlot" as Decanter wrote.

A few months back, we came upon a sample that simply blew us away.

Both Bobby and I looked at each other after one sniff and sip with wide eyes and perked up expressions, thinking the same thing – "WHOA. Good lord this is something else".

It makes sense given the source.

Like that secret swimming hole in the local river that nobody wants to share, this source has a group of diehard fans who scoop up their annual production all for themselves. 

There’s hardly any to go around as they make just 100-200 cases per year. And it’s entirely sold through their mailing list via allocation. You wouldn't even know the label unless you're entrenched in the depths of Wineberserkers or heard about it via word of mouth.

They use this same Merlot as the base of their Proprietary blend, which Jeb Dunnuck called “Downright sexy” when he blessed the 2021 with 95-97 points.

That seems to align with the typical scores they get year after year. And while we wait for our own critic's review, I can only imagine it should hit similar marks.

We took a similar approach to bolster this mighty Merlot with some extra support. 

With the Merlot already busting at the seams with pleasure-bent fruit and ample structure, it didn't need much else to be thoroughly enjoyable on its own.

However, we had the foresight to keep a bit of our Rutherford Cab to sprinkle around like fairy dust. And adding some along with a whisper of Cab Franc made the magic happen.

We settled on a final blend of 77% Merlot, 19% Rutherford Cab, and 4% Cab Franc from an upcoming entry. The added structure, spice, and lift helped bring this opulent Merlot to a whole new level. 

I think this is shaping up to a parallel type of wine from our source, which “represent terrific values in high end Napa Valley reds.”

And mind you, that’s benchmarking against their $110 release price.

Getting this wine for anywhere near $30 it’s an absurd bargain and you'll regret not having more when it's gone.

"This is one heck of a Merlot. Forget the caricatures of the grape—this is full-throttle, robust, powerful, and hedonistic, the kind of wine you want to keep for yourself and share only in measured pours. The blend leans on 77% Merlot, supported by 19% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc, aged 20 months in 60% new French oak. It’s full-bodied, with satiny dark berry fruit, cocoa-powder tannins, and layers of fig, kirsch, and deep forest underbrush that lend an otherworldly freshness to its densely packed core. The tremendous length carries through with smoked paprika and a meaty savouriness, bringing a tasteful umami richness to this Oak Knoll thoroughbred."

— The Scribe

This has to be the sleeper find so far.
We came upon a Merlot sample that simply blew us away. Both Bobby and I looked at each other after one sniff and sip with wide eyes and perked up expressions, thinking the same thing - good lord this is good.
It makes sense given the source.
Like that secret swimming hole in the Yuba river that nobody wants to share, this source has a group of diehard fans that scoop up their annual production all for themselves. There’s hardly any to go around as tthey make just 100-200 cases per year, and it’s entirely sold through their mailing list via allocation. They use this Merlot as the base of their Proprietary blend, which Jeb Dunnuck called “Downright sexy” when he blessed the 2021 with 95-97 points. That seems to align with the typical scores they get year after year.We took a similar approach, with Bobby using 77% of this single vineyard Merlot and blending in 19% of the remaining bit of Rutherford Cab along with a gentle 4% Cab Franc from another pristine source.
I think this is shaping up to a parallel type of wine from our source, which “represent terrific values in high end Napa Valley reds.”
And mind you, that’s at the $110 price they sell it for.
Our price? $29? It’s an absurd bargain.
This stuff is downright sexy. Super polished and pure, deep, ripe fruit. The added Cab Sauvignon and Franc give it a little extra complexity, lift, and polish. Which, to be honest, it didn’t need a whole lot of extra help but it’s like giving Barry Bonds some steroids. Now it’s jacked up, juiced to the gills, and heading WAY over the outfield fence.
Just over 50 cases of this one, and once you taste it, you’ll wish you had more.

— Bobby Moy, The Winemaker