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Friday, June 09, 2006
Merlot
Wine
Lovers Page
More Merlot Continuing our inquiry into whether the bad rap on Merlot
is justified. MacRostie 2002 "Keltie Brook" North Coast Merlot ($14)
Well-made, nothing complex, but balance and acidity make it a table
wine than your average Merlot.
Rex
Goliath Merlot
Rex Goliath Merlot comes with a funky-looking label but is surprisingly
good for an inexpensive merlot. The full name of the wine is HRM Rex
Goliath Giant 47-Pound Rooster Free Range Merlot.
2004
Finca Flichman Merlot
Enotheque: 2004 Finca Flichman Merlot Enotheque Wine Reviews Flichman’s
Merlot is made from rich fruit cultivated in the privileged altitudes
of Tupungato and Maipú (12,500-18,000 ft).
Bordeaux
for less dough
"To produce a rustic wine in Bordeaux is a shame, because you can do
that anywhere," says Alain Moueix of Chateau Fonroque in St.-Emilion,
which produces a $50 Merlot that's exotic, concentrated, focused and
unlike any California wine. Bordeaux's climate is cooler than Napa
Valley's, so the Cabernet Sauvignon- and Merlot-based reds are less
fruit driven.
Calina
Reserva Carmenere 2003 (Valle Del Maule, Chile)
The grape was imported to Chile in 1850 and was mistaken for Merlot and
continues to often be mislabeled in Chile as Merlot. In fact, Carmenere
and Merlot were planted higgledy piggledy amongst each other.
Five
Rivers Merlot 2003
Five Rivers Merlot 2003, from Californias Central Coast, is a pleasant
and affordable wine. If you like a Merlot thats not overly fruity but
still offers flavor and complexity, give Five Rivers Central Coast
Merlot a try.
Whimsical
labels, solid value
Being highly competitive, they put out almost identical lineups,
centered on the same four wines: a pinot grigio, a chardonnay, a merlot
and a cabernet sauvignon. I rarely have good things to say about cheap
California merlot, but here again the group surprised me.
3
Blind Moose Merlot 2003
We sampled yet another critter wine, 3 Blind Moose Merlot 2003. If you
are looking for a $10 or so Merlot that competes well with Australian
merlots from both a flavor and image standpoint, Three Blind Moose
Merlot could be the ticket.
Revenge
of the Merlot
Swanson is the largest single producer of estate-grown Merlot in the
Napa Valley.
Another
Marilyn Merlot collectible hits the shelves
Another Marilyn Merlot collectible hits the shelves Marilyn Merlot,
which had its debut with the vintage of 1985, brought together the
iconic image of Marilyn Monroe and merlot grown in Napa Valley.
Manchego
and Camembert. Merlot and Cabernet.
Manchego from Spain, a firm cheese made from sheep’s milk that tastes
zesty and delivers wild herb aromas, is even tastier when paired with a
soft red wine like Merlot. If you still won't drink Merlot after
watching Sideways pick up a preferred better half to Manchego found in
a Rioja from Spain.
A
Contrarian View of Merlot, part III
In French, the word Merlot means young blackbird, probably alluding to
the grape's beautiful dark-blue color.
Wineries
pitch macho Merlot for manly men
They're making macho Merlot in California wine country. Ray's Station
is selling a Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon both priced at about $15 and
made mostly with grapes from hillside vineyards where the vines have to
struggle to survive, producing richer fruit that adds heft to the
flavors.
Beef
Stroganoff With Green Bean Almandine
This meal is excellent when paired with a good Merlot.
Manhattan
Merlot Mystery:
On one of the first warm days of spring, I slipped out of my office to
buy a bottle of wine for a dinner party. ...
WebWineMan:
Merlot gets up off the mat!
In contrast with The Wall Street Journal's recent Merlot review, which
dismissed most of the under-$20 Merlots, we found quite a few good
values among the affordably priced wines. Merlot is a food-friendly
red, and we paired it with olives, hummus and pats along with an
assortment of cheeses (Brie, a hard blue cheese, Asiago and an aged
Gouda).
A
Contrarian View of Merlot
This week he tackles one of my major peeves, notably that Merlot,
despite the heights of grandeur it can attain in various terroir
throughout the world including France (Pomerol), Italy (Tuscany) and
California, is continually derided as being inferior wine. In
California, many producers grow merlot, cabernet, syrah and other
grapes, often from adjacent plots, and then they bottle them separately
so they can have a complete line of products.
A
Contrarian View of Merlot, part II
The
much-maligned grape has once again drawn the focus of Eric Asimov of
the NY Times, only this time he goes into much greater detail about the
root causes of merlot's sliding popularity (and what can be done about
it). Twenty years ago merlot was a relatively minor grape in California.
Ray's
Station Sonoma Merlot 2002
Ray's Station Sonoma Merlot 2002 is 83% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon
and 4% Cab Franc, from Alexander Valley. A full-bodied Merlot with lots
of tannic structure, concentrated tart red fruit essences plus cola
flavored oak overtones carry well in the warm dry finish.
Howard
Park Cabernet Merlot 1996
Wine
Reports: Nova Wines 2004 Napa Valley "Marilyn Merlot" ($26)
Pleasant, accessible aromas offer the standard profile for New World
Merlot: juicy black cherries, dark chocolate and a whiff of vanilla.
30
Second Wine Advisor: Marilyn Merlot
Marilyn Merlot Offering its 20th annual release this week, the Marilyn
label on this celebrity bottling makes it a noteworthy collectible.
Nova Wines 2004 Napa Valley "Marilyn Merlot" ($26) Juicy and luscious,
cherries and chocolate and vanilla come together in a crowd-pleasing
style, but it's hard to believe that the collectibility factor doesn't
drive the price.
Fruit Set
Merlot is a good example and because you can see poor berry set
(coulure) and hens and chicks (millerandage). In 2004 we had
significant fruit set problems in all our Merlot blocks.
Judging Merlot
But it had to be done, and so I informed them that the theme of our
Grand Crew dinner was going to be merlot and braced myself against
possible attack. In my column this week, I wrote about Swanson
Vineyards campaign to rejuvenate the image of merlot.
Wine
Competition For Local Wineries
New
Releases at the College Cellars
Two outstanding wines (besides their Chardonnay that I wrote about in
Wine Blog Wednesday #21), were the 2003 Klipsun Merlot and the 2004
Governor's Blend. I am thinking that was for the 2003 Klipsun Merlot
and the 2003 Pepper Bridge Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.
The
Armoire and a Bottle of Wine
Another plate of goodies was prepared with wedges of Greek flatbread
spread with chick pea and black olive hummus and in the middle of the
plate was a bowl of assorted green and black olives marinated in olive
oil, herbs and Merlot. I closed my eyes and reached into my wine stash
and pulled out a bottle of wine -- a Woodward Canyon Columbia Valley
Merlot 2001.
On
Long Island, a Case for Respect
Just as the merlot grape was establishing a reputation for making many
of the best wines on eastern Long Island, the movie "Sideways" came
out, with its blanket smear of merlot. Older wines are not necessarily
better wines, but the capacity of a wine to age is considered a
cardinal virtue, especially in wines made from Bordeaux grapes like
cabernet sauvignon and merlot.
Ice
wine makes a sweet choice
We switch between Winking Owl merlot ($2.49 per bottle) or Peter Vella
merlot box wine ($13 for 5 liters) and sometimes a $10 bottle of
merlot. My question (finally) is, Which red merlot is best for your
health?
A
TASTE OF BORDEAUX
2000 Chateau Brown Lamartine Bordeaux Superieur ($22) Made from 75
percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 25 percent Merlot, it's beautifully
layered and complex with tobacco, black currant and roasted meat
aromas, juicy plum and cherry flavors and a dusty, gravelly sensation
on the finish. 2003 Chateau Lamothe de Haux Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux
($15) A pretty, medium-bodied, Merlot-driven wine with raspberry,
cherry and plum aromas and fruity, fresh flavors of plum, cherry, tar,
rose and cinnamon.
Galena
Cellars General's Reserve Red
Yet other websites claim that it's an unorthodox blend of Cabernet
Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir.
2005:
In wine circles, it was a very good year for bordeaux
The grapes that are traditionally used in Bordeaux are: Cabernet
Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot and Malbec. The wines
from the Left Bank of the Gironde river such as Paulliac and St. Julien
are going to be Cabernet Sauvignon based, while wines from the Right
bank, will be mostly Merlot based.
BEARITAGE
LOT #12 - NV
The Zinfandel gives it a nice kick, but does not overwhelm the Cab and
Merlot.
CHATEAU
PEY LA TOUR - 2003
Under the new label "Chateau Pey La Tour," the winery continues to
produce a Bordeaux blend made predominantly of Merlot. 76% Merlot, 14%
Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc and 1.5% Petite Verdot.
Whitehall
Lane Napa Cabernet 2000
The addition of 14% Merlot and 2% Petite Verdot attest to the fact that
the 2000 season needed a wee bit of assistance to bring out both the
body and color in this wine. WHL also makes Merlot, Chardonnay,
Sauvignon Blanc, and a sweet dessert wine called Belmuscato, which is
made from 60% Muscat Alexandria and 40% Orange Muscat grapes.
Perfect
Red Wine for the Texas Heat!
The focus today is on hand crafted estate bottled Pinot Noir and
Chardonnay from the Olivet Lane vineyard in Russian River Valley,
Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from the family's Cloverdale Ranch in
Alexander Valley, and an old clone Zinfandel from their Eight Cousin's
vineyard.
New
Orleans Wine
Other wines worth mentioning were, 2002 Toad Hollow Rod's Merlot
Reserve, 2004 Renwood Barberra 2004 Renwood Lodi Zinfandel.
New
releases. Late May 2006
Pierro LTCf (cabernet merlot with a touch of cabernet franc) Margaret
River 2003.
50
in 50 #4: Arkansas -- Chateau Aux Arc
As part of 50 wines from 50 states, we've toasted New England, sipped
merlot in OK, and enjoyed the intensity of AZ red wine.
Think
You Hate Dessert Wine? These Will Win You Over
Galluccio Family Wineries calls their 2004 Barile Dolce ($30) a “merlot
frost wine” because it is made with 100 percent estate grown merlot
grapes that are frozen for two months before pressing.
Deja
Vu - From French, Meaning "Already Seen."
Frederick is a Cabernet Sauvignon blend (75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19%
Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot) and the name stems from
Frederick Corkrum who farmed the five generation wheat land that is now
known as the Spring Valley Vineyard.
Houghton
Jack Mann Red 1999
Like a big boned version of the Howard Park Cabernet Merlot .
Kay
Simon, Chinook Wines
It's Bordeaux variety country: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon
Blanc a-plenty. So Clay thought we could probably ripen Cab Franc here
more successfully than Merlot or Cabernet Sauvingnon.
Top 100 Vin
De Pays Tasting
Reflecting the poor quality harvest in 2004 the 16 judges chose not to
award trophies for Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Viognier.