Sterling Merlot - what happened in 1999?

[Innkeeper]

Hi Ekmetta, and welcome to the Wine Board. Have more experiance with Sterling Cabs than their merlots, but can offer a couple of guesses. First, the '99 might have been too young, that is not opened enough yet. Another possibility is that '99 was a off year for them with this grape. Most people would grade the three Napa Valley vintages in this order: '97, '99, and '98 last. Therefore, all other things being equal, the '99 should have been better than the '98.