La Prendina Faial Merlot 2014

Ideally drink now through 2024.

A 100% Merlot wine made in the Amarone style, the Faial Garda Merlot has a dark red color with a nose of rich, dried red fruit and coffee. The palate continues the theme, with a velvety dense taste of baked black plums, and a spicy, complex finish. Soft, smooth tannins and an underlying acidity given by the source-vineyards proximity to Lake Garda give this wine the unique ability to be both rich and fresh at the same time. The wine’s Amarone-like style of production gives it the feel and taste of an aged wine though it is still quite young, which allows for early drinking without the need for much additional cellaring, though a few years wouldn’t hurt.

The Faial Garda Merlot would be an excellent wine to pair with a beef roast with a rich gravy, followed by a dark chocolate cake.

La Prendina Estate, located just off the shores of Lake Garda, believes in minimal intervention during the winemaking process, allowing the grapes to show through. Half of the Merlot grapes used for this wine are lightly dried for one week in boxes following harvest, allowing the Amarone-like flavors this region is known for to shine through. The wine is then fermented in the traditional style for 8-10 days, followed by 18 months of aging in new and one-year old small barriques