This Wine Cellar Wednesday, we’re leaning into Merlot’s best trick: plush, velvety texture with just enough structure to keep things elegant. We’ll taste four very different expressions side by side, Advice From John, Big Flower, Northstar Polaris, and Château Beauséjour Cuvée Spéciale, from juicy dark cherry and ripe plum to cocoa, cedar, and a touch of savory spice. Whether you love Merlot for its smooth, crowd-pleasing charm or you’re curious about how serious and cellar-worthy it can be, this lineup is the perfect pour-and-compare night.

​

Orin Swift “Advice From John” Merlot 2024
(California, USA)
Big, plush California Merlot with Orin Swift’s signature drama: blackberry and boysenberry, a little lilac perfume, then graphite/tarragon savory detail and a dark-chocolate cherry note that keeps it from feeling one-note. The vibe here is richness with lift—ripe blue fruit up front, energetic texture through the mid-palate, and tannins that land structured instead of sticky. It’s sourced across Northern California and aged 8 months in French oak (25% new), which gives that polished cocoa/cedar frame without dulling the aromatics.

​

Big Flower Merlot
(Stellenbosch, South Africa)
Cape Merlot that shows why Stellenbosch can do “bold” and “fresh” at the same time: plush plum and dark berry fruit, but with a savory, stony edge that keeps the finish clean. Big Flower leans into clarity and texture—hand-harvested fruit, fermented in stainless steel with regular pumpovers for gentle build, then pressed and sent to barrel for malolactic fermentation, rounding the tannins into that soft, refined feel. Think generous fruit, tidy lines, and a quietly earthy backbone that makes it great at the table.

 

Northstar “Polaris” Merlot
(Horse Heaven Hills AVA, Washington, USA)
Washington Merlot with that Horse Heaven Hills sweet spot: ripe, lush fruit and a sleek, Bordeaux-leaning poise. Expect a smooth, silky profile—“luscious fruit” with vanilla and mocha accents—balanced by the natural structure you get from Eastern Washington’s sunny, semi-arid growing conditions (concentrated fruit, confident tannin, and a long, dry finish). This is the crowd-pleaser of the lineup that still reads “serious red wine” in the glass.

​

Château Beausejour “Cuvée Spéciale”
(Puisseguin–Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux, France)
Right-bank Bordeaux energy—Merlot-driven plushness with a Cabernet Franc lift. The blend is typically 70% Merlot / 30% Cabernet Franc, giving you ripe black cherry/plum depth, then a fresher edge of violet/peppery-herbal nuance and a more savory, mineral finish than you’d expect at first sip. What makes this bottling extra compelling is the hands-off sensibility: organic farming, fermented with indigenous yeasts, and bottled unfined/unfiltered with minimal sulfur—so it tastes like place first, polish second.