I just poured a glass of the Napa Cellars 2007 Merlot. I never know what to expect with Merlot, since it's a grape I fell out of love with when I started really exploring wine about five years ago. But Merlot has definitely been making a comeback and this wine, with grapes generally grown in the cooler southern part of Napa, has a lot going on. When I first poured it, I got scents of spiced cherry, menthol and vanilla. There was something about it that reminded me of wintertime and the holidays, almost like someone was brewing up a batch of mulled wine in my glass. When I tasted it, it kept going. The finish on this medium tannic wine was long and robust. I captured cherry and blueberry with clove, spice and some bark (for as weird as that sounds; there was just something really natural and earthy about it). It's a wine that would do well with food, something with interesting spices, maybe Asian or Greek, but definitely pizza and pasta. And speaking of which, I'm off to pop a 'za in the oven to go with this bad boy. If you find this wine nearby (oddly, the winery's website is still selling the '06 even though this was released in November), it should sell for around $22, which for a 2007 Napa Merlot, is a pretty damn good price.

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