When Invoice Foley bought Merus, the Napa vineyard had fallen on exhausting occasions. Looking for to boost Merus to the extent of Monte Bello by way of high quality and popularity, Foley recruited Ridge winemaker Eric Baugher to take over the cabernet-focused operation.
Baugher left the enduring Cupertino vineyard in January 2021, after 27 years of constructing wine with Paul Draper.
A Santa Cruz native who graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 1992 with a level in molecular biology and biochemistry, Baugher thought he may pursue a profession in drugs—his father was a dentist—however realized that was not his calling. Whereas questioning what to do along with his life, he noticed an advert from Ridge within the Santa Cruz Sentinel. They had been on the lookout for a chemist. It was 1994. He was one in every of 200 to use for the place. The remaining is historical past.
Baugher turned head winemaker at Ridge in 2004 and chief working officer in 2016. Whereas at Ridge, he achieved 100-point scores for the vineyard’s cabernet and Bordeaux-style blends in 2013 and 2017, twice incomes a spot on Wine Spectator’s Prime 100 wine checklist.
When Baugher arrived at Merus, two issues needed to be carried out immediately: salvage the 2019 classic and get fruit lined up for harvest 2021. The 2020 classic for Merus was utterly misplaced to fireplace, and the Merus vineyard barely survived the blaze.
In June 2021, he was all by himself in Merus’s cavernous cellar in a cave. At Ridge, he’d been accustomed to having a seasoned cellar crew, lots of whom had been with Ridge for a number of generations. Nurtured by Draper and the affable Wilma Sturrock, who was Ridge’s president on the time of Baugher’s rent, the group was tight and the accolades plentiful.
Now on this distant nook of Napa, he was actually in a solitary outpost, away from the bustle of Freeway 29. He set to work isolating the very best 2019 barrels, working his magic on them, even including some new American oak barrels to the combo.
“I really like Kentucky oak,” he says. “It provides such depth and spice.”
Merus had primarily procured Coombsville fruit prior to now. Baugher, accustomed to the depth of Monte Bello cabernet, wished mountain fruit for harvest 2021. He was lucky to acquire cabernet sauvignon grapes from Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain and Penny Lane.
Tasting the 2021 barrel samples he pulled from these vineyards confirmed the type of depth and potential that one associates with Monte Bello. When he poured a few of these newbies on the current Collective Napa Barrel Public sale, the response from the attendees was massively constructive.
With only one harvest underneath his belt in Napa, Baugher is effectively on his option to turning Merus round. Consequently, Foley is giving him broader obligations, and Baugher can be overseeing all of Foley’s ever-expanding properties in Napa Valley.
The Merus Visitor Expertise Heart and Caves, situated at 424 Crystal Springs Street in St. Helena, are actually open to our visitors by reservation solely. To make reservations, electronic mail concierge@meruswines.com.
For members at any of Merus’s sister properties or members of the Connoisseur Membership, tasting charges begin at $150 per individual.