Sullivan Rutherford Estate's Bold Bet on Napa's Underdog Grape
/When Juan Pablo Torres Padilla’s firm acquired Sullivan Rutherford Estate in 2018, winemaker Jeff Cole walked him through the portfolio, including wines that traced back to founder James O’Neil Sullivan, who established the property in 1972. JP (as Juan Pablo is known) had spent 17 years living in France and countless weekends exploring Bordeaux. He tasted through the wines. The Cabernet was impressive. After all, Sullivan’s J.O. Sullivan Founder’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a benchmark for Napa Valley reds.
But it was the Merlot that stopped him cold.
Managing Partner Juan Pablo Torres Padilla
Winemaker Jeff Cole
"He told me he couldn't believe that Merlot from Napa could be this good," Cole recalls at a recent press luncheon at Union Square Café in New York City. "All of his preconceived notions were that it was Cabernet Sauvignon—Cab, Cab, Cab—and that's all you do in Napa."
What happened next was either visionary or crazy, depending on who you ask. Three years ago, the team at Sullivan Rutherford ripped out eight acres of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Rutherford property and replanted it with Merlot.
"We literally devalued our Rutherford property by planting Merlot," Cole admits with a laugh. "If JP were to sell the property today, he'd get less money because Merlot is planted there instead of Cabernet Sauvignon."
He pauses, then confidently adds: "Twenty years from now, when we are considered the best Merlot producer in Napa, the value will go up."
The 2018 and 2021 J.O. Sullivan Founder’s Reserve Merlot. photo: Lisa Denning. All other photos courtesy of @sullivan.rutherford.estate.
The Long Game
This is the plan JP and his team have for Sullivan Rutherford Estate: sacrificing immediate value for long-term excellence.
"Our goal with the Merlot program is to not only be the best Merlot producer coming out of Napa, but to compete at the highest level in the world," Cole explains. "I can talk all day long about how great Merlot is, but unless you're putting the time, energy, and resources into it, it doesn't carry a lot of weight."
And the strategy isn’t just about replanting. Sullivan Rutherford Estate has expanded to 40 acres across three distinct vineyard sites, each selected for its potential to showcase Merlot’s diversity and depth.
The 12-acre Coombsville site, acquired in 2019, sits on volcanic ash soils in the cooler southeastern corner of Napa. Here, Merlot shows a bright, mineral-driven character, with lifted aromatics and fresh acidity.
By contrast, the estate’s original Rutherford vineyards sit on gravelly soils deposited over millennia by Spring Mountain runoff. These soils produce dark, savory Merlot with structure and weight, an anomaly in the heart of Cabernet country. The gravel and sand offer excellent drainage and viticultural stress, two key factors in creating complex, age-worthy wines with refined tannins.
A third site in Soda Canyon, situated in the eastern foothills between Stags Leap District and Coombsville, was specifically chosen for Merlot. Six years later, it’s clear they made the right call. This vineyard has proven to be exceptional, adding another layer to their Merlot portfolio and offering another unique expression of Merlot.
“We have rounded out our Merlot holdings,” Cole says. Three different terroirs, three expressions, one vision.
A Heritage Worth Honoring
Sullivan Rutherford's Merlot excellence isn't new; it's a rediscovery. Founder Jim Sullivan, a graphic designer who created album covers for The Monkees before falling in love with wine, built his reputation on powerful, age-worthy reds. His old bottles even had corks stamped with "1-800-BIG-RED."
But it was Merlot that first put Sullivan on the national map. In 1992, Wine Spectator named the 1989 Sullivan Merlot to its Top 100 list at #49, the first Napa Merlot to earn that recognition. The wine was described as follows:
Bold, rich, and fruity, with ripe, concentrated plum, currant, and raspberry flavors that run deep. Has subtle oak shadings on the finish and well-integrated tannins that are present but not overbearing.
"Merlot, put in the right context, being on the right soils, the right farming, the right winemaking, and promoted as such, could be absolutely phenomenal coming out of Napa," states Cole. "And it was those early vintages that JP loved, going back into the historical bottlings that Jim Sullivan had made. It just reaffirmed that there was an opportunity here."
Today, Sullivan Rutherford’s Merlots continue to impress. During lunch, the 2018 and 2021 J.O. Sullivan Founder’s Reserve were poured with the main course. I found the 2018 to be rich and layered, with dark plum notes, subtle spice, and a long, structured finish. In contrast, the 2021 leans bright and energetic, showcasing juicy red berries and vibrant minerality. Together, they illustrate how these wines strike a balance between Napa power and elegance.
The 2025 Turning Point
This year marks a milestone: 2025 is Sullivan's first fully estate vintage. Cole just wrapped up his 13th harvest at Sullivan Rutherford, and you can hear the excitement in his voice when he talks about what's ahead.
The new state-of-the-art winery, designed to honor the Frank Lloyd Wright-influenced architecture of the original estate, is expected to be ready for the 2026 harvest. No more making wine in Jim Sullivan's original 1978 tanks outside with failing cooling systems. No more sweating through power outages mid-fermentation.
"Now we've got everything we need to continue producing and promoting high-quality wine," Cole says. "We've got the spaces, the resources, the assets."
The team’s confidence in their Merlot runs so deep that Cole hosts comparative tastings, pitting Sullivan Rutherford bottles against the best from Bordeaux’s right bank and Bolgheri’s famed Super Tuscan estates. For consumers willing to invest $350 for the experience, it’s a chance to see firsthand how Napa Merlot can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the world’s finest.
And they've got the conviction. Sullivan Rutherford Estate is betting the farm (literally!) on Merlot's potential to be great, and if you've tasted what Cole and his team are making, their visionary moves start to look less like madness and more like genius.
For information on visiting Sullivan Rutherford Estate or purchasing the wines, go to sullivanwine.com. The current release, the 2022 J.O. Sullivan Founder’s Reserve Merlot, is available by request and retails for $330 a bottle.
The winery’s Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired main house.
A tasting at Sullivan Rutherford’s Beautiful tasting room.
