What the Winery Says

The 2009 Swanson Oakville Merlot is the perfect reminder of why so many serious red wine drinkers like Merlot. Visually, aromatically, and on the palate, the wine is plush and generous. The color is dark garnet with a purple edge. The nose is captivating, with aromas of fresh, ripe black cherry, plum, raspberry, and well-integrated toasted oak. In the mouth, very ripe black and red fruits surround a core of velvety tannin. The finish is enticing, silky-smooth, long and harmonious. This Merlot will continue to improve in the bottle, with optimum drinkability from 2013 - 2017.

Winemaker Notes

The 2009 growing season emerged from a relatively dry winter into a warm spring with little frost danger. An inch of rain in May fortunately did not interfere with fruit set. We had a late July heat spike, with only a few days over 100 degrees. Veraison – the transition from green to red fruit – was quick and efficient. Temperatures remained moderate throughout the final stages of ripening, with ample heat to ripen our Merlot grapes.

About the Winery

We are a family winery founded on a passion for evolving the existing standards of wine and food. In the 1950s, long before founding Swanson Vineyards, the Swanson family introduced the first lifestyle product, Swanson frozen dinners, which helped women get out of the kitchen and enjoy life.

In 1985, at his 25th Stanford University reunion, W. Clarke Swanson, Jr. was inspired by a tip from a fraternity brother and successful vintner to purchase a parcel of vineyard land on the Oakville Cross Road in the heart of Napa Valley.

Clarke immediately hired André Tchelistcheff, one of the century’s most influential winemakers, as a consultant to help determine how to make the best use of the vineyards. For André the answer was to plant the then relatively unknown variety merlot—a move that would shape the future of Swanson Vineyards.

The family continues to expand the simple and sensual pleasures of life through Swanson Vineyards. With an eye toward quality, relevance and innovation, the next generation is enticing a whole new audience with a progressive approach to wine, food and the good life.

About The Winemakers

By the summer of 1987 the vineyards were replanted, and André made another influential suggestion—to hire the young novice talent Marco Cappelli to oversee winemaking. Marco, a first-generation Italian-American, was 26 and hired based on André’s gut instinct. It was a wise decision; Marco’s distinctive wines became the founding flavors of Swanson Vineyards.

For the rest of his life André lent his visionary talents to our winemaking pursuits, meeting with Marco biweekly and consulting on matters of the vine and winery. Marco remained Swanson’s winemaker for seventeen years, after which he purchased his own vineyard in the California Foothills. Marco is currently making four dessert wines for Swanson, which include Angelica, Crepuscule, Arsene, and Les Trois Filles.

In 2003, Swanson Vineyards was fortunate to obtain the talent of Chris Phelps as its new winemaker. Chris has had an illustrious career in the wine industry, first as winemaker at Dominus for twelve years and at Caymus Vineyards for six years. His wines are more refined and sophisticated than ever, yet they remain delightfully accessible and approachable—the perfect embodiment of our trademark decadence with a wink.