2016 Mira Winery Merlot Hyde Vineyard Carneros Napa Valley 750 ml

Grower Larry Hyde commands respect—and a premium for his fruit. Duckhorn’s Hyde Merlot, when you can find it, trades for $100+. Hyde de Villaine’s Belle Cousine Blend goes for $90. And Hyde’s own Merlot from 2016 is $95. That’s what makes Mira’s Hyde Vineyard Merlot such a deal.

Mira Winery is a deep under-radar winery that our VP of Wine, Laura Koffer, proudly featured when she was Wine Director at Yountville’s Bottega. “We sold almost every wine they made over the years,” she said. It was founded and helmed by Gustavo Gonzalez, an alum of Ornellaia, Opus One, and Robert Mondavi Winery, where he ended his almost 17-year tenure as the head red winemaker. In 2001, Gonzalez made Ornellaia’s 100% Merlot Masseto ($1,800), a wine that scored 100 points and was called “perhaps the greatest Tuscan red ever.”

Hyde Vineyards proudly proclaims itself the "King of Carneros"—a claim they're more than willing to back up. One of the oldest and most important vineyards in those windy hills between Napa and Sonoma, where fog and cool breezes allow for long hang times and rich, dense fruit, Hyde vineyard has earned its status as California royalty.

Why is Hyde fruit coveted by names like Kistler, Paul Hobbs, Aubert, Kongsgaard, Ramey, and DuMol? For one, Larry’s special collection of clones. His Merlot is his own clone: Merlot 27, which he originally sourced from Niebaum (today’s Inglenook). And when it comes to farming, nobody babies his vines better than Larry Hyde.