Golden/amber in color from its long aging in French oak, the wine is a complex combination of nuts and orange-peel aromas. Thick and rich in the mouth, the nuts and orange-peel theme continues from the entry through the long finish, highlighted by the many subtleties from the fine brandy and time in the barrel.

Variety: 100%  Muscat de Frontignan from vintages 1970 to 1983
Alcohol: 19.5% alcohol / volume
RS: 14%
Aging: French oak barrels
Food Pairing: Pairs well with tiramisu, crème brulée, almond biscotti, hazelnut torte, pecan pie, blue cheeses, and fruit
Serve: Slightly chilled. Try over ice with a squeeze of Meyer lemon.
Accolades: 91 pts Wine Enthusiast

WINEMAKING:
The template for Antigua Dessert Wine was initially crafted at Beaulieu Vineyards by iconic Napa Valley winemaker André Tchelistcheff in the 1960s. Antigua is produced using the solera process, a system of fractional blending over a number of vintages—in this case, over decades.

In the late 1980s, Merryvale purchased the last barrels of wine Tchelistcheff initially crafted which was made from vintages 1970 to 1983. Using these barrels as the base, Merryvale began crafting the later vintages that comprise the Antigua solera. The must was partially fermented, and fermentation was arrested by the addition of fine pot-still brandy. Merryvale made this wine from vintages 1992 through 1997. Today, Antigua solera is an average of 35 years old.

ABOUT THE WINERY:
Napa Valley was a different place when the winery currently known as Merryvale Vineyards was established. It was 1933, and Sunnyhill Winery, as it was then called, was the first to be built in Napa after the repeal of Prohibition. This is where Robert and Peter Mondavi got their start, making wine with their father, Cesare Mondavi. It was a time when rail cars running in front of the property carried their wines to San Francisco and beyond. In the 1940s and 50s, when the site was the “co-op” known as Sunny St. Helena, this same winery was where a small group of Napa Valley grape growers brought their harvested fruit to be crushed, vinified and sold. Later, in the 1970s, the building served as a wine storage facility for The Christian Brothers.

Merryvale’s modern history began in 1983, when a small group of likeminded partners bottled its first wine under the Merryvale label. In 1986, the group purchased Sunny St. Helena, and after extensive renovations, changed its name to Merryvale Vineyards, giving it the historic St. Helena home it occupies to this day. Learn more about Merryvale’s story here>

Modern day Merryvale Winery