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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2015 and 2019 (based on 5 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 87.7 pts. and median of 87 pts. in 18 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Teaky on 8/12/2019: Big bold fruit forward nose, red and black fruits on the nose, some raspberry. Flavors the same, fruit forward, get some leather at the end, along with some vanilla and blueberry. Mildly tannic, low amount of acid. Has a few years left in it, drinking nice now. (888 views) | | | Tasted by Justinneal654 on 8/4/2019 & rated 90 points: Big fruit with cherry cola on the nose. The tannins are fully resolved - this seems to be mature. Some structure and oak that drives the wine. Perhaps some herbal hints. (916 views) | | | Tasted by markcic on 11/11/2018 & rated 90 points: A very enjoyable merlot. Dark red fruit on the nose. The palate was blackberry, red plums, some red meat and chocolate. The finish was moderate and smooth. (1117 views) | | | Tasted by artp on 4/24/2018 & rated 90 points: Plenty of tannins in this wine but they have mellowed to perfection. So glad I have another bottle. Really tasting good right now. MC does a good job with their wines. (1425 views) | | | Tasted by danseng on 1/21/2017 & rated 90 points: Not sure how anyone gets no tannins on this wine. They are pretty evident. Old world style. Great balance of fruit and earthiness. Pretty impressed. (2475 views) | | | Tasted by Dwpmd1 on 11/8/2016 & rated 87 points: Cherry putty bland no tannins (1652 views) | | | Tasted by GTFreek on 10/10/2016: Blind tasted. The lighter color threw me off, thought it was Old World, but once it was pointed out to me how purple it was, even though a lighter purple, I did call Merlot. (1653 views) | | | Tasted by RajivAyyangar on 8/1/2016 & rated 86 points: Monday night blinds (Home (Noe st)): (blind)
V:
- M+ ruby
Nose:
- Intense blackcurrant liqueur
- Slight plum
- Slight overripe cherry - robitussin
- slight cedar (hefty dose of new oak - 100%)
- faint herbaceousness (pyrazines?)
- Slight underripe fruit - babywipe
- Early development - has some hints of savory, meaty tertiary notes
Palate:
- Dry
- Full-bodied
- high alcohol - 14.5% (correct)
- med plus acid
- med plus tannins - well-rounded and plush.
- finishes with a dusting of dark chocolate powder - New Oak.
Oaked new world black fruit pyrazinic with m+ acid and m+ tannins.
CA Cab - fits
CA Merlot / Pomerol - fruit is more cab than merlot
Malbec - too much oak to be malbec
Final conclusioNose: CA Cab, from a ripe year, not too old (doesn't smell over-developed and doesn't show rim variation).
2012 Napa Cabernet, ~$50 moderate quality. The nose isn't my favorite - a bit overripe, but classic.
Score: Around 8.5
Actually 2012 Matanzas Creek Merlot - 14.5% inexpensive.
In hindsight - I read the fruit character incorrectly - it was plush merlot fruit. Less tannic than a cab would be. More plush. Also the pyrazines were really, really vague. (1387 views) | | | Tasted by DStone on 7/8/2016 & rated 91 points: To me, one has to pay more than $12-20 to get a decent Merlot. This one was good. I'd buy it again. Plenty of fruit, yummy wine. True to the varietal. (1321 views) | | | Tasted by dontime on 4/14/2016 & rated 85 points: Spire Collection Tasting at Wine on the Way (Wine on the Way): Black stone fruit, chocolate and rocky earth in a pretty simple, one-dimensional new world take on the old world. (1621 views) | | | Tasted by Yourpalthomps on 4/10/2016 & rated 84 points: MSN: earthy aroma with notes of soil and mushroom. Medium body with pleasing tannins. Compliments vegatative meal.
Andrew: nice dark red color with strong legs. good nose with earthy and black fruit notes. taste is a little tart, light to medium acidity with an easy finish. (804 views) | | | Tasted by isaacjamesbaker on 11/25/2015 & rated 86 points: Blind Cali Reds: Deep purple color. Tart blackberries, blueberries and richer black cherry fruit, some rich iron, potting soil, espresso and vanilla. Medium-to-full-bodied, dusty tannins, some tang from the acid, a velvety but crunchy feel to the wine. Tart blackberries and blueberries, mixed in with toasted oak, vanilla, dark roast coffee and sweet violets. Hints of earth and pencil shavings, a tart currant jam on the finish. A solid, perhaps it will get a bit more expressive with age. (1365 views) | | | Tasted by Danthejuiceman on 11/15/2015: Light reserved style. Not over the top or too fruit forward.
Nice price. Pleasant surprise. (935 views) | | | Tasted by yossarian.livez on 10/3/2015 & rated 84 points: Plum, cocoa, and a touch of savory herbal notes. Medium acid and medium bodied without the plushness of the napa valley. A standard run of the mill in lighter merlot frame. (961 views) |
| By Antonio Galloni
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(Matanzas Creek Merlot Knights Valley Knights Valley) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Sonoma, Anderson Valley and Beyond: New Releases (Jan 2015) (1/1/2015)
(Matanzas Creek Merlot Sonoma County Sonoma County) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Matanzas Creek Winery 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 Sonoma CountyMendocino County |
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