2018 Michel-Schlumberger 'Vin de Coteaux' Dry Creek Valley

This is the red for the weeknight you don't want to overthink.

Michel-Schlumberger began with a singular vision. In 1979, Swiss native Jean-Jacques Michel traveled across Northern California searching for a site capable of delivering both power and finesse.

He found it in Dry Creek Valley, where the climate, soils, and contoured exposures of Wine Creek Canyon offered rare conditions for expressive red wines. From the start, the focus was clear: craft distinctive Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Pinot Blanc shaped by site rather than excess.

In 1991, Jacques Pierre Schlumberger joined the estate, bringing with him more than 400 years of winemaking heritage from Alsace, France. That partnership gave rise to the Michel-Schlumberger identity, blending Old World discipline with a distinctly Californian sense of place. Over time, the winery earned international recognition for wines defined by balance, structure, and clarity.

The estate’s 61 acres of benchland and hillside vineyards, located just 17 miles from the Pacific Ocean, benefit from a subtle coastal influence that promotes slow, even ripening. Careful spacing, trellising, and clone selection allow each site to express its character, producing wines that are elegant, polished, and unmistakably Dry Creek Valley.

Sustainability remains central to the estate’s philosophy, reinforced by a solar energy system that powers the winery and underscores its long-term commitment to the land.

"Vin de Coteaux" means "wine of the hillsides," and that's exactly what it is: the estate's hillside blocks, blended into one glass.

And it's a proper blend. Merlot leads, with Petite Sirah, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Syrah and a whisper of Malbec behind it — six grapes, one estate.

That gives you dark cherry and plum up front, black currant and a little spice underneath, and enough tannic structure to stand up to dinner without turning into a project.

Pour it with a steak, a burger, or a Tuesday you want to feel a little better about. Give it fifteen minutes open and it rounds right out.