2005 Twomey Merlot Napa Valley |
| Vintage | 2005 |  | |
| Type | Red | ||
| Producer | Twomey (web) | ||
| Variety | Merlot | ||
| Designation | n/a | ||
| Vineyard | n/a | ||
| Country | USA | ||
| Region | California | ||
| SubRegion | Napa Valley | ||
| Appellation | Napa Valley | ||
| Options | Show variety and appellation | ||
| UPC Code(s) | 200575005121, 555975207500 |
| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2008 and 2014 (based on 14 user opinions) | |
| Wine Market Journal quarterly auction price: See Twomey Cellars Merlot Napa Valley on the Wine Market Journal. |
| Community Tasting History |
Community Tasting Notes (average and median of 88 pts. in 121 notes) | |
| Tasted by Boomer Sooner on 3/2/2017 & rated 88 points: Nice smooth merlot, past its prime , some bricking (4551 views) | |
| Tasted by Swekman on 1/26/2016 & rated 87 points: Leather, tobacco, blackberries, and white pepper make up the nose of the wine. Lots of tannins on the mouth. Needs a healthy lead time decanting before serving. It is surprising the wine is not more mellow, given the '05 vintage. It will be interesting to see how my two remaining bottles fare with a few more years in the cellar. (6268 views) | |
| Tasted by denartcar on 12/20/2015 & rated 90 points: Wine was very full bodied and ready to be drunk. Full bodied and chewy. Could have blind tasted as a Cabernet. We enjoyed it with a steak dinner and it was very much up to the strong steak flavors. Wonderful wine. (6294 views) | |
| Tasted by Coachron13 on 5/28/2015 flawed bottle: Very rank smell and sour taste. Down the drain. (7192 views) | |
| Tasted by Matty the wine collector on 3/29/2015: End of useful life. Tasted ok but just. (7486 views) | |
| Tasted by chuckos77 on 3/28/2015 & rated 88 points: Probably past its prime. My recollection is the 2005 was not a favorite early and have to say it didn't improve with age. The wine was nondescript and may have been fine as table wine with food. My first thought was that it was better than water but not much. No reason to keep this around. (4068 views) | |
| Tasted by Matty the wine collector on 3/10/2015 & rated 88 points: Wine is approaching end of useful life. I decanted but needed to let it decant for longer. After about 45 mins really opened up nicely. (2486 views) | |
| Tasted by Swekman on 8/6/2014 & rated 89 points: This merlot has a nose of graphite, cherries, white pepper. The tannins are pronounced and the finish is medium long. (3806 views) | |
| Tasted by Scorpion on 6/21/2014: Completely agree -- this wine is on. I had it previously (3-4 years ago) and didn't think anything of it but its time to open. Enjoy (3306 views) | |
| Tasted by garygailkrivan on 4/7/2014 & rated 90 points: This is an exceptional Merlot that's ready for consumption. (3009 views) | |
| Tasted by bryan0827 on 2/16/2014 & rated 89 points: Drinking very well right now. (3804 views) | |
| Tasted by otisabdul on 12/12/2013 & rated 86 points: Tannins are gone. Drink up. (4213 views) | |
| Tasted by mmacphail on 11/27/2013: Not as mellow as I would have expected given its age. Vanilla notes, tannins more like a cab than a merlot. (2681 views) | |
| Tasted by Baron Slick on 11/23/2013 & rated 89 points: This reminded me of a Right Bank Bordeaux. Mature garnet appearance. Ripe and fruity, singed and charred, rocking roasted aromas of black fruit, popcorn kernels, coffee, chocolate, and hints of vegetality. The plummy palate is not as ripe as the nose. It's briary and taut, with good length, and has serious grip on the ferrous finish. This took a few hours to show its true form, revealing spice and dark chocolate notes throughout. Better with food. (2459 views) | |
| Tasted by Petaluma on 11/1/2013 & rated 87 points: Great nose. Good upfront taste. Soft finish. (2681 views) | |
| Tasted by StarM on 9/1/2013 & rated 85 points: A tad underwhelming and disappointing. Very drinkable, with enough fruit to work well with food and minimal tannins evident. But, it was a bit one note, and it did begin to fall flat after being open an hour or so. We did not decant or aggressively pour, yet the last glass was flat by the time we finished dinner. (2366 views) | |
| Tasted by Fishboy on 8/31/2013 & rated 84 points: Seems tired. All wood no fruit. (3236 views) | |
| Tasted by Bluecollar on 8/9/2013 & rated 87 points: Fully aged and ready to drink. Black cherry nose and flavors. Some soft leather mid pallet with very soft tannins. Medium finish. (2191 views) | |
| Tasted by Pluecht on 6/25/2013 & rated 88 points: Not very exciting drink now (2716 views) | |
| Tasted by Murf130 on 5/9/2013 & rated 89 points: Drinking great. Don't wait. Pull cork now. (2758 views) | |
| Tasted by VinoServant on 2/6/2013 & rated 88 points: I had this wine for the first time in December 2010 and I was not impressed. That was not the case this time. This time around the 2005 Twomey NV Merlot tasted great. The wine had a solid core of fruit and tobacco and it seems to be evolving. I have one more bottle left, and I plan on drinking it in 2 to 3 years. (2894 views) | |
| Tasted by Coachron13 on 1/13/2013: Very disappointing. Tried right when opened, no nose to speak of and very dull taste. After an hour of decant, not much different. Muted spices and hint of berry were in there, but mostly just light and dull. Might be that it has reached the end? Better drink 'em if you've got 'em. UPDATE: had another eight months later and it was a good solid 90 point merlot. This first one must have been a bad bottle. (2928 views) | |
| Tasted by Myron on 5/26/2012 & rated 90 points: Pleasantly surprised by this bottle as the last 2005 we opened at Christmas had turned. This bottle had great balance, soft tannins, and some hints of plum & dark fruit left. Pleasant nose. I'd drink these now if you have them. (4869 views) | |
| Tasted by oski on 5/7/2012 & rated 90 points: upon opening, bright notes of raspberry, strawberries and good balanced acidity. After 2 hrs, the wine darkened and became more austere. Leather notes and tannins appeared, then the bottle ran out. (4275 views) | |
| Tasted by ctlassoc on 5/4/2012 & rated 89 points: Nothing special. Nice fruit but not something to write home about. Maybe some blackberry up front. Reasonable acid structure and mild tannins. If you have this drink it now. (3868 views) | |
| Tasted by Tarpon222 on 4/1/2012 & rated 86 points: Nothing special or interesting (3723 views) | |
| Tasted by eoinhharkins on 3/31/2012 & rated 84 points: Most likely peaked last year, opened the bottles and consumed about 2.5 hours later notes of plum, fig and dark fruit on the nose , very ordinary and flat palate (given the price) with short finish . (3659 views) | |
| Tasted by rcurlee on 2/13/2012 & rated 86 points: Quite good. Still lots of fruit. Not very complex but an easy likeable wine. (3598 views) | |
| Tasted by Brett on 1/4/2012 & rated 85 points: An OK Merlot. (3887 views) | |
| Tasted by Tim Heaton on 12/22/2011: Slow-O 1 hr. Dark ruby core, some transitioning. Ripe plum, red floral, dough. Chewy red and black fruits, medium acidity, average focus, depth. Lacks structure. Couldn't wait to move on to the next bottle. Notwithstanding that, it's a solid $20-25 bottle. Drink thru 2013, 14,1% abv, score: B-/B (3983 views) | |
| Tasted by JonGray on 12/2/2011 & rated 91 points: ordered - needs a lot of open time - but very complex - nice in last 2 glasses (3689 views) | |
| Tasted by eoinhharkins on 11/8/2011 & rated 88 points: feel fruit has subsided quite a bit on this, tannins integrated and there's some nice cedar notes to it but seems to lack allot of the character i enjoyed previously (4745 views) | |
| Tasted by wineguy58 on 7/21/2011 & rated 79 points: Hints of plum cassis and bitter tannins. The mid palate was completely missing and fruit was Muted. I see it drying out before it resolves. (5236 views) | |
| Tasted by Nomadirish on 6/6/2011 & rated 82 points: I had high hopes for this since I read that Twomey makes a good merlot. If this is any indication, the writers of such statements must have been drunk. I was very disappointed with this wine - the initial taste from the bottle fell flat; no body to the wine. Upon the second day, more heat was evident with a sour aftertaste. Should be good for cooking but at this price range, you should expect A LOT more. Luckily this was a gift. (5594 views) | |
| Tasted by toontune on 6/3/2011 & rated 88 points: Pretty good day 2...you can only get so good with a non-blended Merlot....has character and a bit of complexity and richness...but it's one dimensional and far from justifying the price. (5567 views) | |
| Tasted by fudp on 5/21/2011 & rated 88 points: Not sure why all the neg reviews of this wine. maybe not a great QPR? Nice plum vanilla and dark fruits on the nose with balance and a medium finish. drank with Neopolitan style pizza (5923 views) | |
| Tasted by NaturalizedTexan on 2/3/2011 & rated 84 points: Boring without much character or depth (6428 views) | |
| Tasted by BillyT on 1/5/2011 & rated 87 points: Weak, possibly flawed, astringent. (6346 views) | |
| Tasted by VinoServant on 12/7/2010 & rated 85 points: This wine did not have a lot of smell to it and it tasted very one dimensional / thin. I decanted it for 30 minutes and it did not change. I was shocked since it is a 2005. I still have two more bottles (paid $35 each at Vintage Wine Merchants on Santana Row) and hopefully they will taste better. For the money, either pay $15 more and buy a bottle of the Paloma Merlot or save $18 and buy a bottle of the Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Merlot. I still have one glass left that I will try to night. (6584 views) | |
| Tasted by rjsbxtr on 12/2/2010 & rated 86 points: non-descript (6716 views) | |
| Tasted by jdabrowski1027 on 10/15/2010 & rated 88 points: Decanter 1 hr. Classic red fruit, plum and chocolate nose. Bright fruit, but then somewhat thin and hot mid to finish. Hopefully it gains weight and some balance, but it can't get by on only good fruit. (7014 views) | |
| Tasted by slywka7 on 9/12/2010 & rated 88 points: I continue to be unimpressed with their Merlot. Way too tannic and not enough fruit and structure. Too much money. (1565 views) | |
| Tasted by dresden on 9/5/2010 & rated 86 points: Disappointed given I paid $65 for this. I liked there intern-made Syrah better. (5414 views) | |
| Tasted by stevenjstein on 8/1/2010 & rated 87 points: Thin, disjointed, and a bit harsh at first. But, after a day, it opened up considerably and seems better integrated with much more fruit showing. A bit grapey at that point, but overall much more pleasant. (7281 views) | |
| Tasted by MoreWinePlease on 6/7/2010 & rated 85 points: Anyone giving it a score of over 85, as of this date, is being charitable, is hitting some kind of pipe prior to imbibing, has a serious sinus condition or just hasn't tasted pre-industrial output fruit. Given the Washington merlots out there for much less money, ya, even a lot of CA merlots as well, not to mention a few pretty good examples from Australia...donnetmakeya wonder??? YES, I'm not tasting it in a blind and it's up against some pretty decent juice tonight, all by myself: '05 Joseph Phelps Napa cab, '04 Peju Provence Napa cab, '04 Cadence Bel Canto(Washington) blend(40%merlot), '07 OwenRoe Yakima (24%merlot), '07 Mark Ryan WildEyed syrah, '07 Catena malbec (91ws,91wa) $21. But I've had many hundreds (1000's by now) of CA, WA, Aussie and Italian merlots, along w/some pretty fine Bordeaux's over the years and if this grape is going to make any kind of a come back, even as a blending varietal, they've got to do a whole lot better than a whole lot of producers have been dooing for far toooo long, outside of a bunch of eastern washington examples over the past few years. Come on, not all merlots have succumbed to PINOT envy...have they? At $60 it's a joke and at $29 it's getting its ass kicked by anything put out by Rob't Keenen, Pride, Shafer, Ch.SteMichelle, Columbia Crest or J.Bookwalter to name even a small group. EVEN the regular bottlings of any vintage of Bernarnd Griffin cab,merlot or syrah will blow away this bottle and another bottle of this squat I paid over $55 and tried a year ago but was too timid to publish a review on at the time. Put out some good juice TWOMEY, drop the retail to below $29 or retire the label. Screw all of this over-priced, over-hyped boutique drivel!!!!!! DEMAND real examples of good juice, reasonably priced. Why the hell should I pay for your lifestyle choices? So here's the poop: muted nose of cherry/plum compote/compost? that may have been left out for too long, at least the oak monster didn't leap out, cheap off-brand blackberry preserves mid-palate (not the real BLACK RASBERRY taste/smell you might hope for in a Dickenson's jam AND...a very clipped finish for a $60+ retail point bottle of grapejuice, even after 2hours in the glass. This shit ain't getting any better, folks and I've got another '05 along w/a '00 left (professionally stored at 54.3 for almost all of its history). Wine Speculator,Gary V, Parker, Tanzer et al. aren't doing enough for all of us in predicting future disappointments, let alone bird dogging the best (available) stuff, and the two editions of, "The Wine Trials" doesn't go deep enough. So what's left????? CELLAR TRACKER!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHARE it, push it, make it a vehicle for, "truth in tasting," sharing the good news of: finds, experience, experiences, value and the often appreciated( if well written): sublime bottle; worth almost any cost of experiencing and sharing. As Linda Ellerbee would have it, before retiring from her news gig, "and so it goes..." (7564 views) | |
| Tasted by danielbleier on 6/1/2010 & rated 86 points: flavor was fine, plum and spice mainly, but the overall impression was very soft, no backbone to support the flavor, nothing sharp or deep about this wine. (7533 views) | |
| Tasted by cnsolsen on 5/1/2010 & rated 86 points: At Silo with Dwyers. It needed to breathe a lot longer than we let it. (7700 views) | |
| Tasted by sswine on 4/3/2010: Nothing wrong with it - I guess I just cant do Merlot. Gave it about 2 hours in the glass after pouring throught the Vinturi - it didn't help. It wasn't sharp or tannic - I just couldn't agtree with the taste. Put the cork back in and gave it to a colleague at work - he loved it! As I told him when he told me - Merlot is for girls ;-) (7754 views) | |
| Tasted by jhannah27 on 3/27/2010: Splash decanted and then right back into the bottle for overnight air corked in the cellar. Uncorked approximately 16 hour after popping. This one certainly has softened since the pop, but it's still pretty tannic with a ton of black pepper, anise, and green bell peppers over some plum and black berry fruits. Overall I liked this, but I think there is better merlot out there for the price range. (6825 views) | |
| Tasted by brigcampbell on 3/27/2010 & rated 91 points: Poker VI - We're Drinking F$#! Merlot (WCC): Plum nose. Very smooth mouthfeel and cinnimon, clove, and oak taste. Definite pepper rounds out the meduim finish. Good complexity, could have scored it higher after writing this up but 91 is what I scored during the tasting. (7578 views) | |
| Tasted by davidandrose on 3/13/2010: Pop and pour; consumed over 2.5 hours. Cork showed seepage, and while the wine tasted off for the first 30-45 mins, this quickly became enjoyable, if soft and one-dimensional. Light fruit, and barely visible tanins mean that the high discounts available on this wine indicate that the SO folks know that this shelf life for this wine has little time. Paid $32 at a local liquor store, and will buy a few more bottles to drink by years-end. (6780 views) | |
| Tasted by King Cab on 3/12/2010 & rated 87 points: Medium light burgundian in color, the nose is super impressive: Exotic and lively with fresh cut spring flowers mixed in with black cherry cola. A very regal style and very impressive indeed. The palate has some black cherry, red plum, sassafras, and oak. This really impressed for about 20 minutes, where it began to go short and closed down, never really popping the fruit out through the oak and drying to a almost pucker. An ok finish, I really wanted to like this more than I did, at least in the end. The memory of goodness was too short lived to really want to seek it out again. Too bad. (6989 views) | |
| Tasted by Coupe 60 on 2/28/2010 & rated 92 points: Opened bottle (but did not decant) for about 90 minutes, and had with a roast port dinner with friends. Even better than when I last had this. Dark fruit, slightly sweet tanins, some caramel mocha. The wine has a great velvety mouthfeel, and was super smooth Wine was really just delicious. Friends at the table also raved about it. Super wine, and a great QPR at the $25 I paid for it... (6807 views) | |
| Tasted by nittanyjack on 2/20/2010: Since I don't drink much domestic Merlot, I won't give a rating. Suffice to say it was simple and easy drinking. I got this as a gift, but I wouldn't buy it. Wife liked it more than me. (6514 views) | |
| Tasted by Coupe 60 on 2/1/2010 & rated 90 points: Popped and poured through 3 bottles with family at DelFrisco's and had with a nice bone in Ribeye. This is a merlot made in a big style, I would have probably guessed cabernet if served blind, dark fruit, + acidity, great structure and balance. Stood up to and complemented the ribeye well. Strong tannins, that say this will be better in a year or two, though it drank pretty good now. I like this bottle and am happy that I have a couple at home. (6568 views) | |
| Tasted by team-blackburn on 8/30/2009 & rated 85 points: Rather lifeless and lackluster, this bottle did not live up to expectations. (6780 views) | |
| Tasted by OneLastSyrah on 7/1/2009: Sonoma-Napa Trip Day 6 (RRV and DCV): Saturated black garnet translucent. Touch of mocha. Medium-bodied and soft. Bit fading. Okay. A second fresh bottle showed brighter fruit and more mocha along with a bit more tannin. (7597 views) | |
| Tasted by Renegade on 5/4/2009 & rated 92 points: I got to taste this at a wine tasting event. It is 96% Merlot and 4 % Cab. Franc. This wine gave off aromas of blueberries, cranberry, milk chocolate and nutmeg. It tasted of blueberries, dark chocolate, red licorice. It has a nice balance of acidity and tannin and will be better with some time in the cellar. It should easily see well past 10 years from vintage date and continue to improve. (6535 views) | |
| Tasted by jrobs7777 on 5/2/2009: The Eighth Annual Philadelphia Wine Festival (Philadelphia Marriott Downtown): I thoroughly enjoyed this. Good blue fruit nose. Kirsch. Nice Merlot but you could taste the Cab Franc in there. Should age well. (6893 views) | |
| Tasted by peternelson on 4/20/2009 & rated 89 points: Winery: Big, rich extracted blkberry frt & cedar. Full bod, not quite my style. (1569 views) | |
| Tasted by bigdomer on 10/23/2008 & rated 91 points: Wow! Would never have believed that this was a merlot. Had this side by side with '99 Mondavi Cab Reserve and the Twomey blew it out of the water. Cannot believe that I love a merlot! (5257 views) | |
| Tasted by rjonwine@gmail.com on 8/25/2008 & rated 92 points: Family Winemakers San Francisco; 8/24/2008-8/25/2008 (Fort Mason, San Francisco): Plummy, herbal nose; herbal, black fruit with good acidity; medium-plus finish (96% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc) (5300 views) | |
| Tasted by bestdamncab on 11/24/2007 & rated 90 points: Nose of herbs, black cherry, and plum, same on the palate, medium body, past peak, tasty, almost mouth filling fruit, medium/long finish. Tasted with the 2003 Twomey Merlot side by side. (918 views) |
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| CellarTracker Wiki Articles |
TwomeyProducer website- Address: 4741 Highway 128 Philo, CA 95466 - Website:https://twomey.com/ - Phone: (707) 942-7099 - Email: tours@twomey.com - Hours of Operation: Friday – Monday: 10am – 5pm PST Additional information: - The location features: Tasting Room, Wine Tours, Walk-In Tastings - Our wine: Twomey Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot - We are also dog-friendly, wheelchair accessible, and have Wi-Fi. - We accept cash and credit. - Here's a description of our new location: Set amongst old growth redwoods off Highway 128 in Philo, CA, our Twomey Anderson Valley Winery features a modern farmhouse-inspired tasting room surrounded by 38 acres of Pinot Noir vineyard. The tranquil, winding creekside drive opens up to beautiful gardens, wine caves set into the hillside and parking for visitors. Producing wines from the area since 2007, we are now able to craft our Monument Tree Vineyard and Anderson Valley Pinot Noirs much closer to the source. MerlotMerlot 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-PetersonNapa ValleyNapa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Napa ValleySt. Helena |