Extreme value classic bordeaux style merlot entering the last chapter of its life. As a cabernet drinker, I have appreciated this softer simpler style when the meal has invited it.
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This is drinking so well, you would think it was a great bottle of Bordeaux. Nose of cherry giving way to soft well integrated flavors of rhubarb, cedar, and cherry. The mid pallet and finish are lively and full of baking spice and cinnamon. If only my $20 bottles were this good.
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Wow! Now, I don't mean wow in terms of wines in general, but for the prices of this bottle - wow! Don't look for complexity or layers, but this wine really delivers with delicious blackberry fruit, a full-bodied mouthfeel, and just a very enjoyable food friendly wine! For less than $10, this is a gorgeous wine! I'm going back for a case!
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You've outdone yourself here. I dropped $6.99 at my grocery store on this and you've delivered. How do you get a ripe blackberry and cherry and oaky nose along with a textured mouth filling body for $7? Is it because you make this by the truckload? I bet you do which makes it even more impressive.
Your pal, Scott
P.S. I love your Walter Clore Reserve!
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deep red but not overly intense or dense. sweet oak and blackberry aromas with some plum notes. good balance of acid and tannin. blackberry flavors dominated.
second day opened up the spice, with cedar and cinnamon singing through the fruit, along with some milk chocolate on the finish. nice effort
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As expected, very nice, with red fruit, good balance, nice nose, great mouth feel. All in all a very nice wine and a great value. This is a very good wine, but not a spectacular, lnock my socks off wine. Wonderful Quality for Value bottle!
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Light fruits on the nose and some oak. Tastes include black cherry and other black fruits, finishing with more black cherry, vanilla, oak. FOr those who love oak, this one has plenty without overwhelming the fruit flavors.
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Friends brought this over for our prime rib group birthday dinner on 8/14/11. It had a ripe and fragrant bouquet of black currant, black cherry, mocha, chocolate, anise and spice aromas. The palate was smooth, ripe, round and dry with flavors of black currant, plum, black cherry, mocha, chocolate, licorice and spice.
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Nice for the price. Nose of ripe cherries, oak and vanilla. The palate is a bit off with too much oak. Dry overall and a bit flat on the finish. Not the best vintage of this wine but good for the price.
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Here is round two and I think i appreciate this more than previous. The whole over oaked issue is a tad better such that the style is more balance and has some nice depth and complexity - need to decant this for sure. Still heavy on the wood. See my last note a few months ago.
I will try the Cab and other varietals from this decent producer.
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I have mixed opinions on this wine. It is really a big taste, fruity, good nose. It does really need to breath however. Maybe it's food intolerant as the 1st time I really liked it but this time it was kind of so-so. Where as it's cousin, the Cab, that seems to be always a good wine. out of the bottle or breathing for awhile. Need to try more as the price is very nice. (hey, any excuse for wine is okay by me).
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Well, now 2 days later in the fridge...really turned around. Wish i would have decanted for good hour when tried the first time...now i'm getting way less oak which reveals much more dark fruit, and a little hint of residual sugar. Served a hair below room temp, this was moderately tasty! I think i may have to try this again.
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Fond of the '06 vintage, as are others in tasting notes, so gave this new bottle @mlcc a try. 15$ CAN. Nose is plumy with dark berry - but also fair amount of oaky quality. Palate is medium wieght with the plumy notes and a hint of chocolate milk - but mid palate and finish is pretty much "oak monster" territory...to much even as it got a good dose of air time...maybe this will mellow over time, but don't think i will buy more.
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PnP. Deep dark purple but not completely opaque. Plummy black cherry nose with big hit of sweet vanilla oak. Medium weight. Bif hit of black fruit and vanilla. Supple a bit sweet no mid palate and a big whack of vanilla oak. Disjointed. OK for Tuesday but disappointing compared to some other vintages.
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Immediately after opening, the taste came across as thick, chocolate and juicy with somewhat weak tannins.
Given the big and round flavor I was getting from this bottle, I found the nose to be very weak, showing some very faint cherry aromas, but presenting little, if anything else.
Thinking the wine was in some sort of bottle shock or stage of "flabbiness", I decanted it for several hours to see if it would wake up a little. After several hours of decanting, it never really opened up, remaining closed and tasting something akin to a flat soda, however retaining it's prominent chocolate and cherry flavors.
Putting the bottle away overnight did not do much to improve flavor either, with the same, flat characteristics coming through as noticed in the previous day.
I was a bit disappointed with this bottle, as it presented a big contrast to their 2006 Merlot I had tasted previously, which came across as a well balanced and decent wine.
Not convinced that I had a good sample, I'll have to try this again with another bottle at some point in the future.
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A nose of cotton candy, butterscotch and cherry. Palate of cola, mocha, licorice and tobacco with a syrupy finish. Seems a little sweeter than prior vintages and thus a little less enjoyable. Still a good value.
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Pop n pour. Nose of spicey oak and faint chocolate. On the palate at first this was a bit thin with a rather bitter finish. After an hour or so this gained weight and revealed sweet oak, mocha, and plum. The finish smoothed out considerably. Turned out to be a decent weekday wine. Simple but effective.
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A nose of granulated sugar and a hint of violets and licorice. Palate of sour cherries with astringent tannins. Some tobacco notes and a hint of brown sugar on the finish. Decent.
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Red fruit with moderate oak and a hint of vanilla. Soft tannins. After some air, subtle mocha on the mid palate and spice on the finish. Simpler than this note makes it sound.
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Solid, as usual. Medium bodied and more on the red fruit side, predominantly red cherries and with just a touch of blackberry on the mid palate. Integrates and comes into balance with air and the additional flavors of pine needle and mocha show up. Fades just a bit on the finish. Would recommend.
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•The Stuff: Columbia Valley, 85% Merlot, 7% Syrah, 5% Cab Fanc, 3% Cab Sauv; 13.5%ABV, aged 14 months in a combination of new French and American oak.
•The Swirl: Dark cherry color with moderate translucence and thin outer edge
•The Sniff: Modest cocoa and oak on the nose with hints of cherry and tobacco
•The Sip: Dark cherry blackberry on the mid palate with a nice smooth finish of cocoa. A hint of spice jumps through that makes this a decent Merlot for the money. Nothing is intense and everything is subdued.
•The Score: At $9.95 I score this a 3 (out of 5). This is an average Merlot that will provide many enjoyable nights.
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7/19/2014 - Rich64N wrote: 84 Points
Over the hill. Slight sourness and sherry flavors. Still drinkable, but end of life.
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2/10/2014 - Francophile Likes this wine: 88 Points
Deep, full bodied just starting to feel a little tired but still a good value wine
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6/27/2013 - bfkd73a Likes this wine: 88 Points
The time to drink this wine is now. Interesting flavors for a merlot, simple, with a bit of a leather taste. Drinkable.
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6/1/2013 - DTWOB Likes this wine: 89 Points
This is a great every day drinking wine packing lots of value.
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2/24/2013 - DTWOB Likes this wine: 89 Points
Nice, solid bottle of wine. Went well with corned beef and cabbage dinner.
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1/23/2013 - EdKz@comcast.net wrote: 89 Points
Extreme value classic bordeaux style merlot entering the last chapter of its life. As a cabernet drinker, I have appreciated this softer simpler style when the meal has invited it.
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10/24/2012 - Bluecollar Likes this wine: 91 Points
This is drinking so well, you would think it was a great bottle of Bordeaux. Nose of cherry giving way to soft well integrated flavors of rhubarb, cedar, and cherry. The mid pallet and finish are lively and full of baking spice and cinnamon. If only my $20 bottles were this good.
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8/3/2012 - FredF wrote: 87 Points
Classic Merlot. Delivers alt that one expects from a merlot. Fruit. delightful balance between fruit/ alcohol. tanin. Very good.
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2/1/2012 - LeChapeau wrote: 89 Points
Wow! Now, I don't mean wow in terms of wines in general, but for the prices of this bottle - wow! Don't look for complexity or layers, but this wine really delivers with delicious blackberry fruit, a full-bodied mouthfeel, and just a very enjoyable food friendly wine! For less than $10, this is a gorgeous wine! I'm going back for a case!
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1/30/2012 - Chris Hadley wrote:
- Crimsom color with slow forming legs. It's balanced and has flavours of cherry - Chocolate aroma
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1/18/2012 - David_T wrote: 88 Points
Tasted blind. Aromas of crushed flowers, earth, cherries. Flavors of cranberry, earth, cherry; light but drying tannins, good acid, long finish.
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1/10/2012 - Tiderunner22 wrote: 87 Points
Nice easy drinking wine as always. Better the second day. Great QPR
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1/4/2012 - Racer117 wrote: 87 Points
Dear Ray,
You've outdone yourself here. I dropped $6.99 at my grocery store on this and you've delivered. How do you get a ripe blackberry and cherry and oaky nose along with a textured mouth filling body for $7? Is it because you make this by the truckload? I bet you do which makes it even more impressive.
Your pal, Scott
P.S. I love your Walter Clore Reserve!
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1/2/2012 - Obalde wrote: 87 Points
deep red but not overly intense or dense. sweet oak and blackberry aromas with some plum notes. good balance of acid and tannin. blackberry flavors dominated.
second day opened up the spice, with cedar and cinnamon singing through the fruit, along with some milk chocolate on the finish. nice effort
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12/28/2011 - jawegs wrote: 85 Points
Always enjoyable
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12/26/2011 - tucsonwino wrote: 86 Points
Solid and enjoyable as usual.
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12/10/2011 - FredF wrote: 89 Points
As expected, very nice, with red fruit, good balance, nice nose, great mouth feel. All in all a very nice wine and a great value. This is a very good wine, but not a spectacular, lnock my socks off wine. Wonderful Quality for Value bottle!
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11/12/2011 - Coleman wrote: 87 Points
Nice wine, but not as good as prior vintages. Nice dark fruit, soft and balanced mouthfeel.
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9/28/2011 - gman1868 wrote:
Light fruits on the nose and some oak. Tastes include black cherry and other black fruits, finishing with more black cherry, vanilla, oak. FOr those who love oak, this one has plenty without overwhelming the fruit flavors.
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9/2/2011 - michigan dogs wrote: 88 Points
really nice, great value, give it saome air and you won't be dissappointed
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8/14/2011 - garambler wrote: 88 Points
Friends brought this over for our prime rib group birthday dinner on 8/14/11. It had a ripe and fragrant bouquet of black currant, black cherry, mocha, chocolate, anise and spice aromas. The palate was smooth, ripe, round and dry with flavors of black currant, plum, black cherry, mocha, chocolate, licorice and spice.
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6/21/2011 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 85 Points
Nice for the price. Nose of ripe cherries, oak and vanilla. The palate is a bit off with too much oak. Dry overall and a bit flat on the finish. Not the best vintage of this wine but good for the price.
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6/8/2011 - bvwino wrote: 85 Points
Just not as good as previous years. Seems to fade within a few hours.
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5/20/2011 - YWG Wine Guy Likes this wine: 87 Points
Here is round two and I think i appreciate this more than previous. The whole over oaked issue is a tad better such that the style is more balance and has some nice depth and complexity - need to decant this for sure. Still heavy on the wood. See my last note a few months ago.
I will try the Cab and other varietals from this decent producer.
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4/14/2011 - CarlCP wrote: 86 Points
I have mixed opinions on this wine. It is really a big taste, fruity, good nose. It does really need to breath however. Maybe it's food intolerant as the 1st time I really liked it but this time it was kind of so-so. Where as it's cousin, the Cab, that seems to be always a good wine. out of the bottle or breathing for awhile. Need to try more as the price is very nice. (hey, any excuse for wine is okay by me).
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3/21/2011 - bvwino wrote: 87 Points
Needs time in bottle, as much better second day.
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3/20/2011 - YWG Wine Guy Likes this wine: 87 Points
Well, now 2 days later in the fridge...really turned around. Wish i would have decanted for good hour when tried the first time...now i'm getting way less oak which reveals much more dark fruit, and a little hint of residual sugar. Served a hair below room temp, this was moderately tasty! I think i may have to try this again.
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3/18/2011 - YWG Wine Guy wrote: 86 Points
Fond of the '06 vintage, as are others in tasting notes, so gave this new bottle @mlcc a try. 15$ CAN. Nose is plumy with dark berry - but also fair amount of oaky quality. Palate is medium wieght with the plumy notes and a hint of chocolate milk - but mid palate and finish is pretty much "oak monster" territory...to much even as it got a good dose of air time...maybe this will mellow over time, but don't think i will buy more.
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3/2/2011 - juneau bob wrote: 87 Points
A good example of light body wine that delivers big punch. Dark plum and mixes nicely with oak. A dry wine with a nice pepper finish.
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2/3/2011 - Jasongolfs wrote: 84 Points
Nice for the price
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2/1/2011 - df1962 wrote: 84 Points
PnP. Deep dark purple but not completely opaque. Plummy black cherry nose with big hit of sweet vanilla oak. Medium weight. Bif hit of black fruit and vanilla. Supple a bit sweet no mid palate and a big whack of vanilla oak. Disjointed. OK for Tuesday but disappointing compared to some other vintages.
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1/9/2011 - bothellwineguy wrote:
Immediately after opening, the taste came across as thick, chocolate and juicy with somewhat weak tannins.
Given the big and round flavor I was getting from this bottle, I found the nose to be very weak, showing some very faint cherry aromas, but presenting little, if anything else.
Thinking the wine was in some sort of bottle shock or stage of "flabbiness", I decanted it for several hours to see if it would wake up a little. After several hours of decanting, it never really opened up, remaining closed and tasting something akin to a flat soda, however retaining it's prominent chocolate and cherry flavors.
Putting the bottle away overnight did not do much to improve flavor either, with the same, flat characteristics coming through as noticed in the previous day.
I was a bit disappointed with this bottle, as it presented a big contrast to their 2006 Merlot I had tasted previously, which came across as a well balanced and decent wine.
Not convinced that I had a good sample, I'll have to try this again with another bottle at some point in the future.
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12/7/2010 - wineward wrote: 84 Points
A nose of cotton candy, butterscotch and cherry. Palate of cola, mocha, licorice and tobacco with a syrupy finish. Seems a little sweeter than prior vintages and thus a little less enjoyable. Still a good value.
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11/28/2010 - billpmay wrote: 80 Points
Will get more of these.
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11/23/2010 - Tuffdawg wrote: 84 Points
Pop n pour. Nose of spicey oak and faint chocolate. On the palate at first this was a bit thin with a rather bitter finish. After an hour or so this gained weight and revealed sweet oak, mocha, and plum. The finish smoothed out considerably. Turned out to be a decent weekday wine. Simple but effective.
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11/21/2010 - callmeacab22 wrote: 88 Points
Light and fresh, smooth and a great nose. A simple but enjoyable wine.
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11/17/2010 - wineward wrote: 86 Points
A nose of granulated sugar and a hint of violets and licorice. Palate of sour cherries with astringent tannins. Some tobacco notes and a hint of brown sugar on the finish. Decent.
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11/7/2010 - gatame wrote: 84 Points
Red fruit with moderate oak and a hint of vanilla. Soft tannins. After some air, subtle mocha on the mid palate and spice on the finish. Simpler than this note makes it sound.
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11/7/2010 - BSpdx wrote: 87 Points
Solid, as usual. Medium bodied and more on the red fruit side, predominantly red cherries and with just a touch of blackberry on the mid palate. Integrates and comes into balance with air and the additional flavors of pine needle and mocha show up. Fades just a bit on the finish. Would recommend.
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10/25/2010 - td1836 wrote: 60 Points
To its credit, this got decent reviews, but I absolutely hated it. Maybe I had a bad bottle.
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6/19/2010 - wayne47 wrote:
Tastes OK but there are better values at this price.
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3/11/2010 - DrinkNectar Likes this wine: 86 Points
2007 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot
•The Stuff: Columbia Valley, 85% Merlot, 7% Syrah, 5% Cab Fanc, 3% Cab Sauv; 13.5%ABV, aged 14 months in a combination of new French and American oak.
•The Swirl: Dark cherry color with moderate translucence and thin outer edge
•The Sniff: Modest cocoa and oak on the nose with hints of cherry and tobacco
•The Sip: Dark cherry blackberry on the mid palate with a nice smooth finish of cocoa. A hint of spice jumps through that makes this a decent Merlot for the money. Nothing is intense and everything is subdued.
•The Score: At $9.95 I score this a 3 (out of 5). This is an average Merlot that will provide many enjoyable nights.
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