00 Andrew Will, Pepperbridge Valley Merlot

Chris and Annie Camarda at Andrew Will have mastered merlot. The 00 Pepperbridge is a model for all American producers. It's an opulent and hedonistic wine -- the kind you'd make sure to pronounce MAHRRR-lo -- that could just as well find its place among barrels in St. Emilion. White pepper and fleshy fruit open to blueberries draped in chiffon and dragged in the mud.