2021 MERLOT, Fog Mountain. California

This is a blend of vineyards from all around California – it’s not looking to show ‘terroir’, it’s created as a vision of what ‘traditional’ California Merlot should taste like.

90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, matured for 6 months in French oak.

Fog Mountain is a brand within the ‘Boisset Collection’. Jean-Claude Boisset owns a large merchant business in Burgundy and many other wineries in France and California. He is married to Gina Gallo.

This is not the finest or most sophisticated red on our list. What it delivers is MERLOT exactly as so many wine drinkers would really like it to be – rich, round and seductive.