Merlot, we’ve missed you! We love the movie Sideways, but the world-altering, 20-year boycott of the Merlot grape was a bit much, don’t you think?

Thankfully, the unofficial ban of the noble Bordeaux grape is over! We’ve been tasting and loving Merlot more and more lately, which has been both delightful and rewarding. Merlot produces some of the world’s most pleasure giving wines, after all, this is the same grape that we find in Bordeaux’s most expensive, most exotically seductive reds, including Château Petrus and Château Le Pin. If you somehow manage to track either of those rare treasures down, however, you’re looking at $4000 to $5000 per bottle.

The good news is, you don’t need to. Today’s special offer includes the 2022 Château Canon Saint-Émilion Grand Cru (100 Points, $182.99) a Merlot based Right Bank Bordeaux, and goes for a few thousand dollars less!

And the even better news? We have a delicious, authentically made Merlot at just $24.99 from a family that has been making Bordeaux style wines in Washington State since 1983. L’Ecole No 41 winery is located in an old schoolhouse in Frenchtown, Washington, just west of Walla Walla.

Yes, the municipality is actually called Frenchtown, and the man who runs it all is Marty Clubb, a living legend and one of America’s best producers of the noble Merlot grape. Scroll down to read about the 2021 L’Ecole No 41 Columbia Valley Merlot (92 Points, $24.99) and the 100-Point Château Canon, or just click the Big Green Button to order now!

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2021 L’Ecole No 41 Merlot
Columbia Valley, Washington
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Over the decades, the greatness of Washington State Merlot has been well known by wine insiders. Comparisons to the silky, deep-fruited, mouthfilling reds of Right Bank Bordeaux are justified in bottles like this beauty from L’Ecole No 41, an estate respected for their serious Merlot reds.

Marty Clubb and his kids craft this “entry tier” bottling from serious real estate, including fruit sourced from their Seven Hills estate vineyard, Pepper Bridge Vineyard, Dionysus Vineyard and more. Raised in French barrels, with just 20% new, this lovely red is textbook, giving lush and tempered flavors and structure. We found plum, blackberry, cassis, deep rose florals, tomato leaf, volcanic red earth, baking spice and white cocoa, all atop a soft, energized palate with a very impressive length that resembles something in the $40 to $50 range that you’d find in Bordeaux. 

We can’t help thinking that if Miles was drinking this wine, he would’ve attacked another grape instead. We’re a strong 92 Points, and though it is very approachable, we’d suggest decanting and would love to see what it’s like in another 3 to 4 years. Deceptively complex! Here are the 92, 92, 90 and 90 Point Reviews from Wine Enthusiast, James Suckling, Jeb Dunnuck and Vinous:

“If a cup of Indonesian coffee served black with a slice of blueberry pie and a chunk of dark chocolate sounds appealing, you are in the right place. The wine's slick and slippery texture accompanies sweet and savory flavors like blackberry compote with roasted rabbit. The tannins are as sturdy as a slab of granite.”
          - 92 Points, Wine Enthusiast (5/1/2024) 

“Black cherries, leafy herbs, leather, and some earthy notes all emerge from the 2021 Merlot Columbia Valley, a plump, rounded, medium-bodied Merlot that has outstanding balance as well as length. I'd happily drink a bottle any time over the coming 7-8 years. Maturity: 2024 - 2032.”
          - 90 Points, Jeb Dunnuck (7/10/2024)

“I like the tar and bark undertones to the blackberry fruit. Some orange peel fragrance. It’s bright and lively with a full body, ripe tannins and excellent freshness. Drink or hold.”          - 92 Points, James Suckling (2/15/2024) 

“Dusty dried flowers, lavender and wild blueberries form an inviting bouquet as the 2021 Merlot Columbia Valley opens in the glass. This is juicy and plump with ripe wild berry fruits and sweet spices accelerated by racy acidity. The 2021 finishes with admirable length and concentration as framing tannins and hints of blackberry preserves linger. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2029.”
          - 90 Points, Vinous - Eric Guido (10/2024)

The median online price for this undervalued red is $28. We’re a couple bucks less. Grab several bottles to enjoy now and over the next 5 to 10 years. 

Vin Chicago Price: 24.99

Double 100-Point Right Bank Bordeaux!

Just how exceptional can the Merlot grape be? At Château Canon, a tiny Grand Cru estate in Bordeaux’s Saint-Émilion, it achieves perfection. In the outstanding 2022 vintage, both Wine Advocate and Jeb Dunnuck awarded perfect 100-Point reviews to this small production red. Crafted from 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc, this prodigious bottling also earned 99 Points from James Suckling and Vinous. Read the RAVE reviews, then quickly secure a few bottles. We only wish we had more than two cases to sell.

2022 Château Canon Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
Bordeaux, France
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“The 2022 Canon has turned out brilliantly in bottle. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of sweet raspberries, wild berries and cherries mingled with hints of violets, pencil shavings, black truffle and rose petals, it's full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a dense, enveloping core of fruit underpinned by a chassis of sweet, suave tannins, concluding with a long, saline finish. This is one of the most muscular, broad-shouldered vintages of Canon in recent years, but it retains every bit of its limestone-driven identity. As I wrote two years ago, this is an estate that is delivering its greatest run of vintages since the superb Post War series that preceded the frosts of 1956, and the 2022 is indeed reminiscent of a modern day version of one of those great years. Drink Date: 2030 - 2065.”
          - 100 Points, Wine Advocate (3/6/2025)

“Ripe black cherries, graphite, crushed stone, and a beautiful floral character all define the 2022 Château Canon, another brilliantly pure and seamless wine from this team. Based on 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc, it was raised in 50% new French oak, with a small percentage in foudre. Medium to full-bodied, it’s focused and precise on the palate, with ripe, polished tannins, integrated acidity, and a gorgeous finish. The elegance and purity here are truly striking, and it brings that rare mix of power and elegance. This sensational Saint-Émilion should evolve gracefully for three decades. In my view, it’s the finest Canon ever, surpassing the 2009, 2010, 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2020. Maturity: 2025 - 2055.”
          - 100 Points, Jeb Dunnuck (2/27/2025)

“The 2022 Canon is a regal wine of total sophistication and class—aromatic, light on its feet and super-expressive. Crushed flowers, chalk, mint, dried herbs, incense and blood orange all race across the palate. Clean saline-inflected notes extend the mid-palate and finish effortlessly. Even with all of the heat and drought of the year, Canon retains its essential, highly refined personality. Drinking Window: 2030 - 2072.”
         - 99 Points, Vinous - Antonio Galloni (1/2025)

We have a very limited number of wooden six-bottle cases available. Quickly order to secure a bottle, or six-pack, for drinking over the next 40 years!

Vin Chicago Price: 182.99