1996 Howell Mountain Merlot Bancroft Ranch
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Tasting notes
Bright crimson. Very lively still though with some perceptible evolution. Good stuff. Round, gentle and flattering, this has long been one of California's banner Merlots and has presumably sold out long ago at home. (JR)
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Full-on opulence with no shortage of sweet fruit but structure as well. This is expressive Merlot, has always been one of Beringer's trump cards and has a way to go. (JR)
The 1996 Merlot Bancroft Ranch was showing much better when I tasted it this year than it did eleven months earlier. The wine boasts a saturated purple color, as well as an exquisite nose of brandy-infused black cherries intermixed with melted chocolate. Dense and full-bodied, with striking sweetness and purity, this full-bodied, multi-layered Merlot has developed beautifully. Although it will benefit from another 4-5 years of bottle age, it can be drunk now, or cellared. It will keep for 15 years. Beringer does a superb job with its production from the Bancroft Ranch on Howell Mountain. About 8,000 cases of their single vineyard Merlot are produced. The wine spends 20 months in French oak coopered by the well-known house of Seguin-Moreau. Tel. (707) 963-7115; Fax (707) 963-1735