Touché William Knuttel Merlot Napa Valley 2023

The year 2004 totally shook-up California’s wine industry. Not because of wildfires, heat waves or other extreme weather, but because of a little movie called Sideways.

The film adaptation of Rex Pickett’s novel, its story follows friends on a trip through California wine country, and it forever changed Americans’ perception of Merlot—one of the state’s top reds—when Paul Giamatti’s character shouted, “if anyone orders Merlot, I’m leaving!”

Even for wine lovers who hadn’t watched it, the scene tarnished the variety’s reputation, and it continues to affect sales negatively more than two decades later. But the thing is, Merlot is actually delicious. And Touché is just the wine to prove it.

It was crafted by expert winemaker William ‘Bill’ Knuttel, who established a reputation for a mastery of local grape varieties at esteemed California estates like Chalk Hill and Saintsbury. To make Touché, he started with premium fruit from Truchard Vineyards in Carneros, then aged the wine 14 months in a mix of French oak barrels. This approach leads to better balance in the final wine, ensuring its fruit flavors aren’t overwhelmed by oak influence.

The result is butter-soft on the palate, with a depth of red- and black-fruit tones contrasted by cedar and vanilla spice notes. The wine even offer’s a cinematic nod: Its label features a 1890s chronophotograph, an early attempt to capture movement on film by layering multiple successive images that ultimately led to the development of movies!