Non-Vintage Marilyn Merlot Maneater Red Velvet 750ml 

This is the one you have all been waiting for, the one that almost all Marilyn Collectors are missing from their collection, the Non-Vintage Marilyn Merlot Maneater Red Velvet Collection Nude Label!!  These were bottled in the mid 90's, most likely 1994 or 1995.  These are the rarest of the rare, so don't miss out on this opportunity to add this crown jewel to your Marilin Collection today!

 

For those that are not familiar with the Maneater label, this is the private (non-commerical, never sold) label version of the Marilyn wines that the creators of the wine made to give away to friends and family, they also used some of these wines to donate to charity auctions from time to time.  These Maneater versions were produced in very limited numbers and because they were never sold in any stores they are extremely rare.   PLEASE NOTE: The Maneater does not carry the Nova Wine name, as Nova Wine was the company created to sell the Marilyn wines commercially.   As these were never sold, they carry the name of the wines creators directly as shown on the label.   These names vary from year to year as the creators came and went.  The only constant is Holder, the wines principal owner.

 

A Brief History of Marilyn Merlot

Bob and Donna Holder, principal owners of Marilyn Merlot, moved to Napa in 1977 from Kansas City, Mo. He was a CPA, and she taught at St. Helena High School, but they quickly gravitated to wine.

In 1980, the Holders and a few friends started producing a barrel of Cabernet at the couple's Rutherford home. They called the wine Cannibal Sauvignon and, although it wasn't for sale, packaging stood front and center: The "brand" was dubbed "Maneater," and the bottles got a snappy cartoon label designed by Denys Cazet, one of the home winemakers.

Using purchased grapes, they produced their first homemade Merlot in 1983. One evening two years later, when the wine had been bottled, dinner conversation turned to a name for the Merlot. "We wanted something cute that fit with the Maneater brand. Donna [Denys' wife], said, 'Why not call it Marilyn Merlot?' The idea just hung there, and it really seemed like a clever name," recalls Bob Holder.

By that time, Holder also had some firsthand knowledge of the wine business. In 1980, he became a partner in a commercial venture called Manzanita Cellars, which produced Chardonnay and Cabernet from purchased grapes. Holder, who wears a neatly trimmed beard and comes across as matter-of-fact, credits the idea to take Marilyn Merlot commercial to a friend in the business, Tony Cartlidge, now a partner at Napa-based Cartlidge & Browne. "We gave a case to an auction, and Tony said, 'You ought to be selling this stuff,'" says Holder.

A few years later the commercial potential was becoming obvious. The 'Maneater' group put together a few thousand dollars to bottle a 1985 vintage Napa Valley Merlot and became Nova Wines Partners.  Sales of the first commercial vintage, the 1985 Marilyn Merlot, which was made with purchased bulk wine, were good. They sold out the initial 2,500 cases they'd made, and then received an order, from Japan, for 2,000 more cases of the vintage. They bought more bulk Merlot and did a second bottling from the 1985 harvest.

Item Condition:

The bottle pictured is the exact bottle you will receive, please review pictures for item condition.   See pictures for details.  We only sell "new" unopened bottles full of wine.  We do not sell any empty bottles.   Please ask any and all questions before bidding!   For larger pictures or any questions you can email us at info at aabalat dot com.  We will combine shipping for multiple purchases.

Shipping:

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 Orders shipped to New Hampshire will be charged 8% sales tax.  Orders shipped to California will be charged 9% sales tax.

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63688 138L   PN