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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2009 and 2013 (based on 6 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 88.4 pts. and median of 89 pts. in 49 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by wine maestro on 11/1/2014 & rated 85 points: From 375ml (431 views) | | | Tasted by KenPlace on 3/30/2014 & rated 88 points: Not very convincing. The last few glasses where much better. I would suggest decanting for an hour. (4500 views) | | | Tasted by meeshe on 12/7/2012 & rated 87 points: Wow still very tight. Needs decanting first which we did not do. Used vinturi first but still needed a lot of time to open up. (5484 views) | | | Tasted by arthrovine on 10/29/2012 & rated 89 points: Very pretty merlot that, while still juicy, has softening and showing some spice, sage, and other savory notes. Probably has 3-5 more yrs left in it. (5597 views) | | | Tasted by truenorth on 9/21/2012 flawed bottle: Tastes funny. Cork seems soft. (6000 views) | | | Tasted by arthrovine on 6/2/2012 & rated 86 points: Big oak evident in this bottle. (5760 views) | | | Tasted by bowmanbc on 3/30/2012 & rated 85 points: had this bottle for so long and thought it was going to be much better than it was. (2414 views) | | | Tasted by sallison on 5/6/2011 & rated 85 points: Was not impressed (2464 views) | | | Tasted by ecola on 2/5/2011 & rated 90 points: This is a wonderful wine. Aromas of black fruits, plums, tobacco. Full bodied flavors of lush dark berries and dark plums. Lengthy finish that is tight and tannic. This still has a way to go. ($10) (2561 views) | | | Tasted by pickhardt on 2/3/2011 flawed bottle: Hopefully, this is a bad bottle and not reminiscent of the wine. I can't drink it. It smells funny and tastes worse. Somebody else gave it 3 days, so I haven't dumped it yet. (2847 views) | | | Tasted by Kevdog on 8/2/2010 & rated 89 points: second weekend this month we have ordered this wine at different restaurants and for the price these places are charging for this it is a winner. big fruit with rounded tannins... not much complexity but at $40 in a nice rest. it is a great value. (2868 views) | | | Tasted by Blcmdpa@gmail.com on 2/23/2010 & rated 89 points: Actually a pleasant surprise as I was not expecting much. Fairly full and rich, light on the edges but good fruit and medium to light body and follow through (3067 views) | | | Tasted by eeeeeradicator on 11/27/2009 & rated 87 points: Agree with other posters that there's just a little something that knocks this generally rich and fruit-forward wine down a peg. The net result is good but not great. (3246 views) | | | Tasted by Bakek on 11/21/2009 & rated 92 points: Very much coming into its own. (3303 views) | | | Tasted by gjv115 on 11/11/2009 & rated 89 points: Ripe. Very good on the finish. It was an enjoyable wine, but I'm not that big of a fan of wines this ripe. (3267 views) | | | Tasted by salsipuedes on 10/22/2009 & rated 90 points: Excelent Merlot, a little short on the finish. But overall, very nice. Full bodied, a touch of bitterness in the finish wich prevents me from scoring it higher. (3286 views) | | | Tasted by garambler on 10/5/2009 & rated 88 points: We had this after dinner on 10/5/09. The nose had plum, cedar, burnt toast, vanilla and spice aromas. The palate was smooth and dry, but dominated by an excess of oak. There were plum, burnt toast, vanilla and spice flavors. (2949 views) | | | Tasted by arthrovine on 9/24/2009 & rated 90 points: Great QPR. Food friendly. Oaky, but not excessive. Mild espresso notes. No significant alcohol as reported by others, although I did the Mollydooker shake. Dark fruit, paired well with marsala wine sauced veal. for its cost, a delicious food wine and competes with zin for pizza. (3444 views) | | | Tasted by Mike Kopanski on 8/21/2009 & rated 93 points: This is my favorite Merlot, 2004 is probably my favorite year for it. The secret to me is the medium heavy toast oak, possibly some American which jumps out at the nose. This works brilliantly. complimenting the mocha, expresso, and smokey concentrated cherry and dark blue fruit components. Ripe silky tannins. Easy on the palate. Not a hint of any green pepper flavors or aromas. The very best item is the finish, which is almost pure chocolate. (2568 views) | | | Tasted by mjf@ulkner on 5/26/2009 & rated 86 points: From a 375. Fairly unremarkable. Lots of oak, singeing alcohol. (3478 views) | | | Tasted by cma82 on 4/24/2009 & rated 84 points: I couldn't get past the obnoxious alcohol on this wine. Listed at 14.8, but it was very noticeable on the finish. It was barely drinkable initially, but improved over the course of three days. Otherwise, notes of lots of oak, mocha, and blackberries. Good structure, just not integrated (3600 views) | | | Tasted by J2K on 4/11/2009 & rated 91 points: I agree with pgm on the nose of buttered popcorn and american oak. I liked this merlot, nice balance of fruit and tannins, and decent finish. (3654 views) | | | Tasted by pgm on 4/9/2009 & rated 88 points: Big noseful of buttered popcorn American oak. Good cherry fruit, some currant, and good structure. Tannins coat the mouth on the finish. (3675 views) | | | Tasted by jpleisure on 4/1/2009 & rated 84 points: Little fruit, thin, not what I expected (3771 views) | | | Tasted by Tim Heaton on 2/27/2009: More California Cabernet than Merlot. This is extremely ripe and has a high abv%. The wine has a rich, opulent texture, but it's a bit too candied and too heavily oaked for my tastes. Drink thru 2011, approx $30. The '03 was a somewhat better expression of the varietal. (3629 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Swanson 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 Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Oakville |
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