October Is Merlot Month -- No. 2

The Flora Springs Merlot 2017, Napa Valley, is about as firm and juicy as you could ask merlot to be, by which I mean that there's plenty of both structure and flavor. This is 100 percent varietal and spent 20 months in French oak barriques; winery material adds the qualifier "mostly French," so I assume there must be a touch of American or Hungarian oa…