2011 Truchard Merlot

Community Tasting Notes (4) Avg Score: 86.6 points

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  12/13/2015 - comlaw Likes this wine: 87 Points

  Based on previous notes I aerated and decanted for an hour. Light body with red fruit--raspberry and strawberry. Moderate tannin and vegetal undertones. Did not stand up to food (eye round) but pleasant on its own.

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  7/10/2015 - Wine.woot_taster wrote:

  I tasted this wine on Tuesday, here are my notes:
  The color was a dark ruby, with a purple hue. I had chilled the wine, so it was served at about 60 degrees. The initial sniff made me think of raspberry jam. First taste revealed a lot of cherry and wood flavor, with a nice tannic grip. I also got a little pepper and vanilla.
  
  As the wine warmed up, I noticed more mint and cherry coke aromas, with a hint of blueberry. The flavor became more vegetal and drier tasting, with less of a cherry flavor. I also detected some violet (yummy!). There was a finish of chocolate/vanilla. The wine drank well on its own and with my rib eye. At 14.2%, I was pleased that there was no hotness to the flavor or nose. My husband and I agreed that this is a bottle we would gladly pay $25 for.

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  7/10/2015 - Wine.woot_taster wrote:

  I had a friend visiting, so I decided that sharing this bottle with him and my housemate would produce several opinions. All 3 of us enjoy and prefer red wine. Myself I'm not much of a merlot drinker, so I do not know what the usual merlot should taste like.
  
  We paired the wine with 3 different types of cheeses, and some strawberries.
  
  Initial opening and pour:
  On the nose: all 3 of us got some dark fruit, maybe dark cherries and raspberries. On the initial taste: we felt that the wine was tannic, it coated the tongue. The tannic flavor kind of overpowered everything on the first taste. For the second pour we ran it through the soiree, and then decanted the rest of the wine. The soiree helped reduce the tannins, so we decided to wait.
  
  We tasted the wine both after 1 hour in the decanter, and 2 hours in the decanter. After 2 hours in the decanter, the tannins have mellowed out, and I would say the wine became pleasant to drink. I would say that the flavors seemed muted. My personal opinion is that this is a very drinkable merlot. I would suggest decanting it, and pairing it with food. The wine paired really well with fruit, and the goat cheese we had. It was pleasant on the nose, but seemed muted in flavor.

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  7/10/2015 - Schaeferr wrote: 85 Points

  Appearance: The wine was clear and free of sediment. It was ruby-red colored--much closer to a pinot noir in appearance than the darker purple of a cabernet.
  
  PNP (at just above cellar temperature):
  Nose: Initially, the nose was quite closed. Tough to pick out much except for oak/vanilla, and some initial heat/alcohol. After some swirling, I was able to pick out a slight vegetal smell, in addition to the oak/vanilla.
  
  Taste: The initial taste is totally different than the nose. Unlike the nose, there is very little perceptible oak or heat on the palate. I could also not initially perceive any vegetal taste, despite the vegetal streak in the nose. The wine is tart and tastes of young red fruits--almost like biting into a fresh cranberry. My guess is that the wine will be relatively high in acidity, based on the mouth-watering and mouth-drying sensations from the wine. The finish is medium, at around 4 or 5 seconds.
  
  We left the wine for a bit and had a dinner that didn't really pair well with the wine. After eating and cleaning up, we came back to the wine to see how it developed as it warmed and breathed.
  
  Nose: The perceptible heat and alcohol smell had dissipated. The slight vegetal streak I noted at PNP has developed into a dominating smell of green pepper. There's still some slight vanilla/oak behind the green pepper, but it would not be noticeable if I weren't looking for it based on my PNP notes. There is still very little fruit on the nose.
  
  Taste: Like on the nose, the green streak has developed on the palate, which is now a balance of green pepper and cranberry.
  
  In sum, for me, this wine was a bit disjointed tasting, which is probably not surprising from the tough 2011 year. The fruit flavors in the nose and on the palate were underwhelming for me. In the end, the cab franc in the blend did much of the heavy lifting here. If you're looking for a restrained, easy-drinking merlot that demonstrates some nice cab franc personality, this is your bottle of wine. My wife enjoyed this wine and found it imminently quaffable.

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