Merlot from the Santa Cruz Mountains is rare; Merlot at this kind of price is rarer still. Richard Alfaro farms 65 estate acres in Corralitos, the cool, fog-pulled southern edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, and his ‘A’ Merlot comes off his own plantings. Cool-climate Merlot here means red fruit over black, more cedar than cassis, and a leaner build than the Napa or Washington style. Three years in bottle has rounded the edges nicely. This is the kind of bottle that reminds you what Merlot looks like when it isn’t trying to be Cabernet.