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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2010 and 2015 (based on 32 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 89.1 pts. and median of 89 pts. in 24 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Watchster on 4/6/2013 & rated 90 points: Drinks well with nice layers and integrated tannins. Quite nice. (3558 views) | | | Tasted by winegr on 7/19/2012 & rated 89 points: This still needs some air to open up. It is ripe, but classically dry, with nice structure of acids and tannins. The heat is the only drawback. It really was drinking well after about an hour or two. 88 upon pop, 89-90 at peak. Probably 90. Mouthcoating tannins tht are drying in a good way. Well done. Just pick slightly earlier. (4169 views) | | | Tasted by DesMarteau on 1/20/2012 & rated 92 points: Wish I had more. (4783 views) | | | Tasted by DesMarteau on 12/23/2011 & rated 94 points: OK...high score I know...but this is really great. I remember a bottle of 1997 St Francis Merlot I had and it was outstanding....this is the same. Really right bank bordeaux. Nose of plum, cola, spice. perfectly integrated raspberry, blueberry, plum, cola, spice...tannins for a strong backbone...but really nicely integrated. 45 second finish. OK....really, really good QPR and wish I had a full case. (4934 views) | | | Tasted by df1962 on 12/5/2011 & rated 87 points: PnVnD let air for 3hrs. Purple crimson almost opaque with a pinkish rim. Plum cherry with a touch sage and earth and a hit of oak on the nose. Medium weight with stemmy tannins. Leathery plum cassis and cherry with tobacco earth and cedar notes. Enough acid to keep it balanced. Overall a bit disjointed and not enough to suggest there is something to join up. OK for the money but at the same time confirms the challenge of merlot. (4871 views) | | | Tasted by TAratari on 12/1/2011: These were good and some were bad... interesting.. :) (2158 views) | | | Tasted by winegr on 11/27/2011 & rated 89 points: Siliar notes to last time. Very elegant and nicely balanced. Somewhat classical. Needs 30 minutes of air to get going. Some herbal notes and earthy licorice come forth to balance the elegant fruit. 89+. Well made. (1812 views) | | | Tasted by winegr on 9/16/2011 & rated 89 points: 89-90. This needs a bit of air for the more complex elements to appear, but this is very good. Elegant, balanced, ripe, but not overextracted and fairly classically dry. I like this a lot. Has a bit of earth and pencil lead to balance out the nice fruit. (1969 views) | | | Tasted by df1962 on 8/16/2011 & rated 90 points: PnV. Dark crimson purple almost saturated with plum rim. Smoky cassis and plum jam aroma. Medium weight with powdery cocoa tannins. Smoky cassis plum and tobacco flavors. Really opened up over the couple hours from opening to writing this note. At first did not like it at all. Definitely needs more time or a good decant. Drying cherry skin finish. Better than the last bottle not as good as the first. Will be careful with the next bottle as it is my last.
Day 3 - poured off to a half bottle and left in the fridge. Has opened up beautiful nice rich mellow fruit, plush tannins. Really does need time. +2 from original score. (2166 views) | | | Tasted by apspr on 7/28/2011 & rated 91 points: Superb merlot, with a delicious nuanced nose of violets, cherries, and earth. Palate corresponds with deeper red berry notes added. I recommend a 2-3 hour decant, but this seemed ready to roll from opening. If you open for friends, make sure you have more than one bottle! (2249 views) | | | Tasted by TAratari on 6/20/2011 & rated 89 points: So good - jammy and tasty (2521 views) | | | Tasted by TAratari on 6/20/2011 & rated 89 points: same as above (2555 views) | | | Tasted by DesMarteau on 6/12/2011 & rated 91 points: Nose of menthol, mint, cherry. Beautiful purple sparkling color with red edges. Deep charged rasberries, cassis, creme, menthol, long smooth finish. Great bones in this merlot... (2602 views) | | | Tasted by df1962 on 6/1/2011 & rated 86 points: No formal notes. Found it a bit flabby and not as good as previous bottle. (2465 views) | | | Tasted by df1962 on 5/19/2011 & rated 90 points: PnVnD let air for .5hrs. Dark claret purple almost opaque with crimson rim. Plummy cassis and cedar nose with a blackberry blossom note. Medium weight with silky espresso tannins. Blackberry jam sour cherries and dark chocolate on the palate. Real dark chocolate on the mid-palate. Medium finish of cherry skin and oak char. Nicely balanced. Really opened up over the course of 2hrs. Should have bought more. (2624 views) | | | Tasted by winegr on 5/13/2011 & rated 89 points: Needs some air. Quite a nice wine. Becomes drier and more complex with air. This is nicely balanced with nice acidity not overextracted. Full bodied but not overextracted. This could get to 90 pts with time. Tannic structure suggests several years til decline. Very nice. (2511 views) | | | Tasted by TAratari on 4/16/2011: Jammy, Yummy, Just damn good. (2853 views) |
| St. Francis Producer websiteMerlotMerlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to be a diminutive of merle, the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color of the grape. Its softness and "fleshiness", combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to be higher in tannin.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Sonoma CountyMendocino CountySonoma ValleySonoma County, California, is one of the most important winegrowing regions in the whole of the United States. Vines have been planted here since the 1850s and, apart from the inevitable hiatus brought about by Prohibition, the county's relationship with wine has been prolific and unbroken.
Viticulturally speaking, Sonoma County is divided into three distinct sections: Sonoma Valley, Northern Sonoma and Sonoma Coast. Each of these has its own AVA title and encompasses several sub-AVAs within its boundaries. |
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