| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.1 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 23 notes) |
| | Tasted by abh11 on 9/7/2022 & rated 96 points: Power and complex, in a really great place. (595 views) |
| | Tasted by Jchen01854 on 10/2/2018 & rated 92 points: 75% Merlot, 15% Cabernet franc, 10% Cabernet sauvignon, 21 mo in 75% new French oak, 29 barrels (736 cases) made, Aaron Pott, winemaker
Deep ruby color, nice fruit nose, starting with red fruit, then some coffee like bitterness, then some earthiness. Smooth tannin and medium finish, with a little flash.
With airtight each time, it actually best on 3rd day. I will assume it can still improve in the next few years at the least. (1917 views) |
| | Tasted by winecadence on 9/27/2018 & rated 93 points: Deep ruby color. Fragrant red fruit on the nose. Surprisingly not overly fruit forward given the fragrance. Decanted for approximately 1 hour. Was even better after more air. Wonderful bottle that I don’t see improving much more with time. Wish I had one more. (1998 views) |
| | Tasted by msuwine on 9/1/2016 & rated 92 points: A lovely Merlot-based blend that offers a savory yet tasty interpretation of a difficult vintage. Dark red in color, medium in body, nose of black cherries, flowers, and rosemary. Tastes of boysenberries, plum, cedar, and spices, with a tannic and brief finish. A little thin in the mid-palate, but the wine has a class that is charming. Blend of 75% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. 14.2% alcohol. Drink now or in next year or two. (3323 views) |
| | Tasted by mkoss on 7/23/2016 & rated 92 points: Young, needs air, but after an hour it is sublime. (3263 views) |
| | Tasted by jrhonda160 on 6/23/2016 & rated 85 points: It was alright, glad I didn't pay full price (2750 views) |
| | Tasted by pitcrewstrategist on 4/12/2016 & rated 92 points: A true wow for a merlot drinking like, well a cab..or blend. hmmm. cherry, smoky, went well with lasagne. Smells beautiful and drinks to the end- after an hour really opened up...love the birds (blackbirds).... nicejob. (1831 views) |
| | Tasted by Mech-E on 5/24/2015 & rated 93 points: In terms of enjoyment, this bottle delivered. On sale (for 67.99), this is a no-brainer. The smell of Oakville permeates this wine. Gave it 3 hours in the decanter prior to tasting. Spicy, sweet, with a little briar thrown in. If it were only a little more dense...this would be a true stunner. As it is, a very enjoyable effort with some dry-aged ribeyes. (2391 views) |
| | Tasted by jkvedar on 10/19/2014 & rated 92 points: smooth. Mixture of red and dark fruit on the most. The merlot comes through on the palate. Long pleasant finish. (1736 views) |
| | Tasted by rjonwine@gmail.com on 5/31/2014 & rated 92 points: Black-tinged dark red violet color; coffee, tar, ripe black fruit nose; tasty, creamy textured, ripe black fruit, coffee, cedar palate; medium-plus finish (75% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon) 92+ points (784 views) |
| | Tasted by richshoes on 4/26/2014 & rated 92 points: solid, robust, fat wine with a little bit of unbalance with regard to the alcohol. 75% merlot, 15% cabernet franc, 10% cabernet...tasty and easy to drink...big, mocha, cherry... (1905 views) |
| | Tasted by BigBoy_Sonoma on 2/15/2014 & rated 89 points: Dark fruit, pepper, tobacco, spice, oak. Tannins are well integrated. B+ (1796 views) |
| | Tasted by Nutty08 on 4/27/2013 & rated 94 points: Bassins 28th Annual California Barrel Tasting (Mandarin Hotel, Washington, DC): Barrel sample, not a final blend. My final wine of the day and what a way to end it. I seriously had flashbacks to tasting the ’11 right bank bdx EP. The cab franc dominated the nose and palate with an herbal, slightly green, killer nose that was both classy and powerful. The palate was more laissez-faire, and much less concentrated than the ’10, but was also much more expressive at this stage. Not a wine for everyone, as the green/herbal edge of the cab franc will likely turn off many Cali drinkers used to polished perfectly ripe fruit, but I found this to be a fantastic expression of the vintage and the most interesting cab franc dominated wine I’ve ever had from Cali. 93-95 (3308 views) |
| Blackbird Vineyards Producer website
Purchased by Michael Polenske in 2003, Blackbird Vineyards (a former walnut orchard first planted with 5, 717 Merlot vines in 1997) is now an ultra premium label in its own right. Fittingly, the word 'Merlot' is French patois for 'little blackbird.'
An early harbinger of Blackbird's potential arose when Mia Klein of Dalla Valle fame created a Blackbird Vineyard designate for her highly acclaimed 1999 Selene Merlot (no less than 95% of the fruit in the bottle must be from the named vineyard).
Three of the top wine critics in the industry - Robert Parker, Stephen Tanzer, and Wine Spectator's James Laube - scored this wine in the 90s.
Since the premier release of our 2003 vintage, Blackbird Vineyards' winemaking team has handcrafted truly expressive wines with a focus on the varieties of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon. By utilizing the natural advantage of a
10-acre estate vineyard which produces exceptional Merlot in the Oak Knoll District-along with meticulously sourcing fruit of comparable quality-our portfolio reflects artisanal, terroir-driven wines of pedigree with each vintage.Red Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.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 Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Napa ValleySt. Helena |
