Cellar for up to 3 years. Decant for 30 minutes prior to serving. The Hahn Family Merlot, made with grapes grown primarily in the Arroyo Seco region of Monterey County, just south of the San Francisco Bay Area, is a soft and flavorful wine. Dark garnet in color, this wine has aromas of black cherry, cassis, and cocoa. A luscious and full mouthfeel has flavors of sweet spice, plum, juicy black cherry, and mocha. The finish is smooth, velvety, and long. Seared duck breast with a black cherry sauce, beef short ribs, or grilled pork chops would be excellent foils to the mouth filling richness that this wine has to offer. The Hahn Family has been growing grapes in the Santa Lucia Highlands of Monterey county since 1980, and were some of the first supporters of the regions ability to grow excellent wine-grapes capable of making world class wine. The Hahn Family Merlot is a blend of 76% Merlot, 14% Petite Syrah, and 10% Malbec, grown on well drained gravelly loam soils that help to give Merlot its characteristic intense red fruit flavor and deep color. Aging in 50% new French oak helps to balance and meld the flavors from the different varietals and vineyards that Hahn sources from.