Domaine des Seailles "Cubik" Merlot 2022

Direct Press Selection | April 2025 [PRESS 4 MIX • PRESS 4 RED] Merlot is possibly THE quintessential misunderstood grape, demonized in the 2004 movie “Sideways” when Paul Giamatti’s character, Miles, famously screams that he will “NOT drink any f****** Merlot” outside a Napa Valley restaurant. Even today, people still use the “Sideways effect” to explain a measurable decline in demand for the grape after the movie was released. I recommend Slate’s “Decoder Ring” podcast episode on all of this (also titled “The Sideways Effect”), which does a great job of breaking down how Merlot sales had already started to slide after farmers overplanted the grape in the 1990s. When people say they hate Merlot, they usually mean that they hate simple, fruity red wines, which is obviously not true of the grape overall. That brings us to Domaine Séaille, a certified organic estate in Gascony — a region of France much better known for its Armagnac production. The “Cubik” is 100% Merlot, mostly estate fr