Another Great Guilliams

Guilliams 2002 Merlot, Spring Mountain
(I think we paid around $40 and now we wish we had bought a case)
Shane’s Notes

We bought this one from the winery where we met the Guilliams. We really enjoyed talking to them, and we really enjoyed sipping their wines while overlooking Napa Valley from their vineyards. So, we really wanted to like their wines. Fortunately, their wines are magnificent.

This Merlot seemed tight when we tasted it, so I decided to decant it for at least 45 minutes. I thought Jen was aiming for a 5:30 for dinner so I decanted at 4:45. However, Jen had dinner ready at 5:00 (a very tasty tri trip), and a quick sip of the wine revealed that it needed at least another half hour in the decanter. We decided to eat dinner without the wine. I would rather enjoy the wine after dinner than drink it with dinner before the palate has revealed itself.

Our wait was richly rewarded. This is a magnificent, mouth-filling, Pantagruelian Merlot. It is rich and unctuous with sweet fruit up front (cherry and blueberry). There is also some tangy currant and just a hint of dark chocolate. It is cab like and quite stunning. We have now had the Guilliams Merlot and Cab from 2002, and we can only say “Congratulations!” We can’t wait to drop by for another visit.