{"product_id":"2019-forthright-winery-oak-knoll-district-napa-valley-merlot","title":"2019 Forthright Winery Oak Knoll District, Napa Valley Merlot","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e93 Points — Sommeliers Choice Awards 2024 | Merlot of the Year — 2024 Sommeliers Choice Awards | Merlot of the Year — 2025 USA Wine Ratings | Two Gold Medals — 2020 Decanter World Wine Awards\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eWHY WE CHOSE THIS WINE\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eForthright was founded on a quiet act of defiance. Four longtime friends — Patrick McEvoy and Rafer Caudill as winemakers, Ed Stritch in Chicago, and Sel Sanliturk in London — built a small cave operation in Napa Valley with a single conviction: that Merlot, properly sourced and properly made, is among California's most profound varietals. The name itself is intentional — in Old English, \"forthright\" means to move straight forward. The winery's focus has never wavered. Their Merlot comes from the Oak Knoll District, the cool southern pocket of Napa Valley where marine influence from San Pablo Bay extends the growing season and preserves the brightness that distinguishes truly great Merlot from merely good Cabernet. Forthright ages their wines far longer than convention suggests — this 2019 spent extended time in barrel before bottling and further time in the cave before release, so what arrives in the glass has already completed the hard work of integration. Total production across all wines is roughly 2,000 cases per year, handled by McEvoy and Caudill without additional staff. The accolades are extraordinary for a producer of this scale: Merlot of the Year at both the 2024 Sommeliers Choice Awards and the 2025 USA Wine Ratings, two Gold Medals at the 2020 Decanter World Wine Awards, and a position among the top 10 Oak Knoll District wines by aggregated score. For members who understand what it means when a wine earns its standing entirely through merit, this is the bottle to open.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;\"\u003eTASTING NOTES\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eDeep ruby and opaque, with a bouquet of remarkable distinction — cherry pie, blackberry jam, Satsuma plum, milk chocolate, mocha, and a thread of warm spice that recalls cardamom and all-spice. Simultaneously plush and bright on the palate, with dark plums, boysenberry, and a lasting note of dried tobacco leaf on the finish. The tannins are broad and gravelly, coating the palate in the manner of a serious Napa Cabernet rather than a conventional Merlot — which is precisely the point. A wine that changes minds. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Top Flight Wine Club","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47422163124393,"sku":null,"price":95.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0540\/6251\/4345\/files\/FORTHRIGHT.png?v=1788635509","url":"https:\/\/topflight.winesavage.com\/products\/2019-forthright-winery-oak-knoll-district-napa-valley-merlot","provider":"Top Flight Wine Club","version":"1.0","type":"link"}