2018 Sbragia Merlot, Home Ranch, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
Tasting Notes
Our Home Ranch Vineyard, which we’ve farmed for decades, surrounds the family home at the southern end of Dry Creek Valley, consistently producing richly concentrated Merlot grapes from the soil’s rocky clay loam components. It weaves hypnotically through herbal, earthy notes of sage into cherry cola, clove, and cedar. A vibrant acidity brightens up the blackberry, black currant, mocha, and plum flavors. Well structured, our Merlot tapers with a round, lush finish.
Specs
Varietal: 95% Merlot, 5% Petite Sirah
Appellation: Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
Vineyard: Home Ranch Vineyard
Harvest: September 28th, 2018
Cooperage: Aged 18 months in 60% new French oak barrels and 40% in 1-year-old oak barrels
Barrels: 100% French Oak - 30% New
Alcohol: 14.7%
pH: 3.5
TA: 6.3
Cases Produced: 912
What’s Included
6-bottles:
6x 2018 Sbragia Merlot, Home Ranch, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County Case:
12x 2018 Sbragia Merlot, Home Ranch, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
Our family’s history in Sonoma County dates back to my grandfather, who came from Tuscany in 1904 and worked in many wineries, including the historic Italian Swiss Colony. For decades, we grew prunes like most farms in Dry Creek Valley at the time, and in the 1950s, my father, Gino Sbragia, replanted the fields on our property to wine grapes, mainly Zinfandel, which I helped tend all through my youth. Gino sold most of the grapes to other wineries, yet kept a small amount to make into wine at home. He had an old-world philosophy that winemaking was a natural process; all you needed for good wine was good land, good grapes, and good techniques. He was right, and that has been my guiding principle since the start of my career.
Gino’s dream was to start a family winery, to make wine from our own grapes with our family name on the label. His dream became mine, and I made a promise to him that I would fulfill it and bring over a century of our family’s hard work into a winery that produces wines that reflect our winemaking heritage here in Dry Creek Valley. In August 2006, we opened the doors to Sbragia Family Vineyards.
After 32 years as the Winemaster at Beringer Vineyard in Napa Valley, I’ve had one foot in Sonoma and the other in Napa. Both areas mean a lot to me emotionally; I’m more attached to Healdsburg and Dry Creek Valley because it’s where I raised my kids, but the wines that I’ve made at Beringer are like children. Either way, the wines Sbragia Family Vineyards produces from both Sonoma and Napa are intensely personal, an expression of single vineyard terroir, and history that runs through it all.
I’m proud to say my son Adam now makes our wines. He has found the perfect balance of honoring how Gino and I made wine and putting his own stylistic stamp on the bottle. He continues the pedigree of high scores, awards won, and a profile of altogether big, rich, polished, and most importantly, delicious Chardonnays, Zinfandels, and Cabernets.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
2018 Sbragia Family Vineyards Merlot
So excited to get a chance to Rat again! I got the 2018 Sbragia Merlot and on first glance it is a deeply, opaque almost plum color (still closer to the red side than purple) that appears very rich. It is still a bit warm in my area (between 80 - 85 degrees Fahrenheit), so I put it in the fridge as soon as I got it. I pulled it out and let it sit a bit to come up to room temperature. First sniffles and I can smell cola and black cherry with something creamy in the back end. I have decided to call it vanilla. First sips and I get some of the fruit, none of the creaminess, and a lot of minerality that I have decided to call “carbon.” This is pretty dry, but not heavy and as it warmed up some of the sugar came through to mellow out the taste a bit more, but the carbony taste remained (in a good way). Although I was able to get this wine in advance, I got forgetful so I was not able to prepare a meal that I feel made sense to have with a Merlot and I ended up drinking this wine with some crab legs, salad, and a baked potato (I know, not even a steak for some surf n’ turf!). My bad! The good news is that the wine really helped to cleanse the palate with the decadent meal (tons of butter for the crab and the potato!), but it lost a lot of its personality in the process. I think this wine would pair better with a pork chop or a nice steak with a semi-decadent sauce that won’t overpower it too much or a nice charcuterie board with hard cheeses might work as well. As the temperature eventually cools in my neck of the woods, I think I would drink a wine like this a lot more on its own or with a little snack. Overall, I enjoyed it and had no problem drinking the rest of the bottle!
We got the email from Terry — “Wine is Coming Your Way!” — and that’s always a reason to celebrate!
This time, it was a varietal we’ve come to really enjoy through past Lab Rat tastings: Merlot. But this one came from a new-to-us producer, Sbragia Family, and their specific vineyard name that just feels inviting — Home Ranch.
Earlier in the day we had a pretty big lunch, so we decided to skip our usual “find a dish to pair with our Lab Rat wine for the review” routine and just dove into tasting. We figured we’d pour a glass and let it speak for itself.
And boy, were we glad we did.
In the glass, it showed a deep ruby-purple color. On the nose, we got dark, slightly sour cherries and plums.
The first sip brought bright cherry and red fruit flavors up front, with lightly tart cherry notes. It then gave way to smooth, gentle spice on the finish — warm and cozy, like something you’d want by a fire on a cool evening. Perfect for those still-warm days that turn into cooler, fall-like nights.
This 2018 Sbragia Family Merlot Home Ranch has a lighter mouthfeel than some of the other Merlots we’ve tried. As the wine opened up throughout the night, more plum and darker berry flavors came through, along with a touch of black pepper.
We re-corked it and plan to come back to it later this week with a pork dish to see how it pairs. Will provide updates once we do!
Overall, this 2018 Sbragia Family Merlot Home Ranch is elegant and easy-drinking — plenty of character without being heavy-handed. A nice expression of Merlot that reminds you why the varietal deserves more love. As typically bolder Cab red fans, we really enjoyed how light and fruit-forward this wine was.
Thanks again to Terry and the Casemates team for the opportunity to Rat this one. Looking forward to hearing everyone else’s thoughts — and seeing how it evolves with food later this week!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2018 Sbragia Merlot - $30 = 18.75%
A relatively recent WE review:
88 points. Leaning into the savory side of Merlot, the nose of this wine gives aromas of sour cherry, capsicum, tobacco and black pepper. The palate shows tension between grippy tannin, likely from a bit of Petite Sirah in the blend, and electric acidity, with intriguing herbal flavors alongside black cherry and leather. This is a great match for roasted venison, herb-crusted lamb or quail. — Tom R. Capo 10/1/24
What a nice family story.
My grandfather a Croatian immigrant also made wine (just for himself - in NJ !) he used to say you need good barrels along with good grapes and techniques.
Having had more than a few Sbragia wines and more than more than a few Beringer wines over the years, sad to see that Sbragia has closed up and is for sale.
I really enjoyed Ed Sbragia’s Beringer Private Reserve and Knights Valley Cabs in the 80-90’s and early 2000’s! Sad to learn that Sbragia Family Vineyards has closed its doors not too long ago. Perhaps we’ll see some different Sbragia Family Vineyards offers on CM in the future!
@irenegade Ditto on the Knights Valley. It was a house favorite in the 1990s and also a favorite on the Prodigy wine forum in those days! (Who remembers Prodigy and the flame wars with Robert Parker?) My ID from then is still burned into my memory: PJSX09A. You can google it! And as you’d expect, you’ll get ZERO hits. Yes, I’m an old fart, spending my Social Security money on Casemates.
@chipgreen@irenegade Surprise! I was there, too. Where I first bumped into Robin Garr. I was in tech, so I was everywhere. I was a CompuServe sysop in an unrelated group, meaning I had unlimited free access across the platform. One more google search hit than Prodigy! LOL
ID: 74431,2517
@baldwino0@chipgreen@irenegade
Never had to deal with AOL or any of the earlier providers. Started with ArpaNet and UUCP via dial-up to campus with a .edu address, and later with ISDN to campus.
@baldwino0@chipgreen@irenegade@rjquillin CompuServe alum here as well. It wasn’t cheap either. $6/hr for a 300 baud connection iirc. Parents were less than pleased with the bills that rolled in…
To bad; they’re yet another dedicated disciple of the grape who will be no more …
In for a case, guess I’ll set it next to the 4 other case’s I don’t have room for. sour-icy-pain
2018 Sbragia Merlot, Home Ranch, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
Tasting Notes
Specs
What’s Included
6-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$421.20/Case for 12x 2018 Sbragia Merlot, Home Ranch, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County at Sbragia Family Vineyards
About The Winery
Sbragia Family Vineyards
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Oct 27 - Tuesday, Oct 28
2018 Sbragia Merlot
6 bottles for $79.99 $13.33/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $129.99 $10.83/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2018 Sbragia Family Vineyards Merlot
So excited to get a chance to Rat again! I got the 2018 Sbragia Merlot and on first glance it is a deeply, opaque almost plum color (still closer to the red side than purple) that appears very rich. It is still a bit warm in my area (between 80 - 85 degrees Fahrenheit), so I put it in the fridge as soon as I got it. I pulled it out and let it sit a bit to come up to room temperature. First sniffles and I can smell cola and black cherry with something creamy in the back end. I have decided to call it vanilla. First sips and I get some of the fruit, none of the creaminess, and a lot of minerality that I have decided to call “carbon.” This is pretty dry, but not heavy and as it warmed up some of the sugar came through to mellow out the taste a bit more, but the carbony taste remained (in a good way). Although I was able to get this wine in advance, I got forgetful so I was not able to prepare a meal that I feel made sense to have with a Merlot and I ended up drinking this wine with some crab legs, salad, and a baked potato (I know, not even a steak for some surf n’ turf!). My bad! The good news is that the wine really helped to cleanse the palate with the decadent meal (tons of butter for the crab and the potato!), but it lost a lot of its personality in the process. I think this wine would pair better with a pork chop or a nice steak with a semi-decadent sauce that won’t overpower it too much or a nice charcuterie board with hard cheeses might work as well. As the temperature eventually cools in my neck of the woods, I think I would drink a wine like this a lot more on its own or with a little snack. Overall, I enjoyed it and had no problem drinking the rest of the bottle!
/giphy forceful-errant-parsnip
@casemates My coupon for buying Desert Wind 2019 Ruah Estate Vineyard did not work BOOO!
@casemates @zanderson45 same here
@JonnyA9497 @zanderson45 Did you write to customer service?
@casemates @JonnyA9497 @zanderson45 same
We got the email from Terry — “Wine is Coming Your Way!” — and that’s always a reason to celebrate!
This time, it was a varietal we’ve come to really enjoy through past Lab Rat tastings: Merlot. But this one came from a new-to-us producer, Sbragia Family, and their specific vineyard name that just feels inviting — Home Ranch.
Earlier in the day we had a pretty big lunch, so we decided to skip our usual “find a dish to pair with our Lab Rat wine for the review” routine and just dove into tasting. We figured we’d pour a glass and let it speak for itself.
And boy, were we glad we did.
In the glass, it showed a deep ruby-purple color. On the nose, we got dark, slightly sour cherries and plums.
The first sip brought bright cherry and red fruit flavors up front, with lightly tart cherry notes. It then gave way to smooth, gentle spice on the finish — warm and cozy, like something you’d want by a fire on a cool evening. Perfect for those still-warm days that turn into cooler, fall-like nights.
This 2018 Sbragia Family Merlot Home Ranch has a lighter mouthfeel than some of the other Merlots we’ve tried. As the wine opened up throughout the night, more plum and darker berry flavors came through, along with a touch of black pepper.
We re-corked it and plan to come back to it later this week with a pork dish to see how it pairs. Will provide updates once we do!
Overall, this 2018 Sbragia Family Merlot Home Ranch is elegant and easy-drinking — plenty of character without being heavy-handed. A nice expression of Merlot that reminds you why the varietal deserves more love. As typically bolder Cab red fans, we really enjoyed how light and fruit-forward this wine was.
Thanks again to Terry and the Casemates team for the opportunity to Rat this one. Looking forward to hearing everyone else’s thoughts — and seeing how it evolves with food later this week!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2018 Sbragia Merlot - $30 = 18.75%
A relatively recent WE review:
88 points. Leaning into the savory side of Merlot, the nose of this wine gives aromas of sour cherry, capsicum, tobacco and black pepper. The palate shows tension between grippy tannin, likely from a bit of Petite Sirah in the blend, and electric acidity, with intriguing herbal flavors alongside black cherry and leather. This is a great match for roasted venison, herb-crusted lamb or quail. — Tom R. Capo 10/1/24
fwiw
What a nice family story.
My grandfather a Croatian immigrant also made wine (just for himself - in NJ !) he used to say you need good barrels along with good grapes and techniques.
Having had more than a few Sbragia wines and more than more than a few Beringer wines over the years, sad to see that Sbragia has closed up and is for sale.
I really enjoyed Ed Sbragia’s Beringer Private Reserve and Knights Valley Cabs in the 80-90’s and early 2000’s! Sad to learn that Sbragia Family Vineyards has closed its doors not too long ago. Perhaps we’ll see some different Sbragia Family Vineyards offers on CM in the future!
@irenegade i can second the knights valley. It was my go to in resturants in the 90’s. Great quality without getting totally gouged on price.
@irenegade Ditto on the Knights Valley. It was a house favorite in the 1990s and also a favorite on the Prodigy wine forum in those days! (Who remembers Prodigy and the flame wars with Robert Parker?) My ID from then is still burned into my memory: PJSX09A. You can google it! And as you’d expect, you’ll get ZERO hits. Yes, I’m an old fart, spending my Social Security money on Casemates.
@baldwino0 @irenegade
All the Kool Kids were on CompuServe.
J/K. Personally, I was addicted to AOL for a few years in the mid-90s. It was an expensive habit!
@chipgreen @irenegade Surprise! I was there, too. Where I first bumped into Robin Garr. I was in tech, so I was everywhere. I was a CompuServe sysop in an unrelated group, meaning I had unlimited free access across the platform. One more google search hit than Prodigy! LOL
ID: 74431,2517
@baldwino0 @chipgreen @irenegade
Never had to deal with AOL or any of the earlier providers. Started with ArpaNet and UUCP via dial-up to campus with a .edu address, and later with ISDN to campus.
@baldwino0 @chipgreen @irenegade @rjquillin CompuServe alum here as well. It wasn’t cheap either. $6/hr for a 300 baud connection iirc. Parents were less than pleased with the bills that rolled in…
To bad; they’re yet another dedicated disciple of the grape who will be no more
…
In for a case, guess I’ll set it next to the 4 other case’s I don’t have room for. sour-icy-pain
Ed is a personal friend and who I consider one of the best winemakers in California. I’m in.
@ScottHarveyWine
You are certainly no help to a storage limited SIWBM
Anyone is SoCal/San Diego have couple of bottles to split?