 After
a decade of popularity, Merlot is still the darling red
varietal of the typical wine consumer. In spite of a
virtual flood of low-price wines, this segment offers
few-to-none that we could think of as exemplary. We
decided to up the ante and place our bets on some
higher-stakes Merlots.
The end result was the
tightest ranking, with the least point-spread we have
ever had in a tasting. Every one of the wines was a very
good wine. We had to nit-pick the differences and we must
admit that style was as much a determinant of ranking as
quality. Overall, we decided there was no wine that was
stunning, that rose above the flight. At the same time,
there are none that we feel uncomfortable in recommending
(see "FURTHERMORE" following tasting notes).
Graham selected the
right menu to show off these wines. A salad of field
greens, watercress and fresh tomatoes with vinaigrette
really released the fruit in some of the wines that, on
their own, seemed tannic and closed-in. He followed with
sliced grilled beef tri-tips which also worked to mute
some of the charred and toasty oak flavors ... and they
were delicious!
Brand
Varietal /
"Type"
Vintage, Appellation,
Vineyard
TASTING
NOTES:
Color; aroma; flavor; body;
balance; finish. Alcohol. Varietal
composition
(if known). Summary. ($
paid)
|
Wines are considered
Equal Quality
within Categories of Recommendation
(Listed
Alphabetically by Brand)
consensus
terms appear in bold
(possible flaws? are in brackets)
* indicates a second or third party
WEBSITE
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HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED
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 Seven
Hills
Merlot
1999, Walla
Walla Valley, Washington
Dark, rich
ruby-purple; sweet, berry, blueberry,
black cherry, cassis, alcohol, terpene,
cinnamon, mint, baby powder, vanilla, chocolate,
espresso and burnt toast
(H2S)
aromas; young, simple, straightforward,
fruity, grapey, berry jam and espresso
flavors; light body, young tannins are more tart
than astringent; tart balance; quick finish. 13%
alcohol. The vote tally and positive comments
showed the panelists liked this wine, but
descriptions were spare. ($28) WEBSITE
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 Shafer
Merlot
2000, Napa
Valley
Dark
ruby; muted fruit, blackberry,
spicy, dill, licorice-anise, cedar (terpene?,
petrol?), earth, cocoa, coffee,
charcoal, smoke, oak and toast
aromas; big, dry, fruity, candy-like, horehound,
coffee, smoke and oak flavors; smooth body,
rich with soft tannins; good
balance; finish is long, astringent,
bitter, medicinal, warm, coffee-like.
14.8% alcohol. Least controversial wine of the
flight, garnered neither a single first-place,
nor a single last-place vote! ($33)
WEBSITE
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 Stag's
Leap Wine Cellars
Merlot 1999,
Napa
Valley
Medium-dark
ruby; fresh, sweet, subtle,
blackberry, eucalyptus (moth balls?),
fusel, tar, herb, olive, cocoa, vanilla and raw
meat aromas; ripe, dry,
jammy, black cherry, anise, cola and coffee
flavors are big up front; smooth, rich,
medium body, firm tannins; excellent
balance; somewhat astringent, bitter
finish is long, lacks fruit. 14.5%
alcohol. Very complex, this wine appeals most in
the up front jammy-berry flavors and smooth,
rich texture; will be near perfect when the
backbite, hopefully, ages away. ($40)
WEBSITE
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 Trefethen
Merlot
1999, Napa
Valley
Very
dark, dense ruby; sweet,
alcohol, herb, vegetal, pepper, mineral,
dusty, oak, tar and somewhat "heavy" aromas;
big, dry, very fruity, prune, blackberry
and citrus flavors; medium body, stiff,
slightly astringent, chalky tannins; good
balance, faintly tart; long finish is
warm, peppery and slightly rough. 14.3%
alcohol. Most controversial wine of the flight
with the most first and second-place votes (4)
and also the most last and next-to-last votes
(3)! Nose and flavors seemed opposite, although
they did come together after several minutes.
($25) WEBSITE
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RECOMMENDED
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 Chappellet
Merlot
1999, Napa
Valley
Dark ruby;
vegetal, alcohol, cocoa, floral,
dusty, spice, cardamom, allspice, coffee,
oak and tar aromas, while black
cherry, blackberry, apricot, plum and
citrus fruit takes 10-20 minutes to open up;
pleasant sweet entry, some fruit (under
ripe?), boysenberry with oak, charcoal and tar
flavors; light body, astringent, firm
tannins; good balance, faintly low acid;
fruit begins to show in short, rough,
faintly bitter finish. 14% alcohol. This wine,
shy at first, changed more than any other,
opening up to reveal fruit that was initially
absent. This could bode very well for its
cellaring potential. ($23) WEBSITE
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 Duckhorn
Merlot
1999, Napa
Valley
Dark
ruby-garnet; muted, berry,
cherry, citrus, plum, cinnamon, herbal,
vegetal, green, roasted coffee bean and oak
aromas (hint of filter pad? soap?
Brettanomyces?); ripe, sweet, upfront,
concentrated fruit flavors; medium to
full body (thin?), soft, chalky
tannins; lean, tart balance;
astringent, warm, slightly
apricot-bitter, but pleasant finish.
14.5% alcohol. Very complex, great flavors, yet
a hard-to-identify, but slightly "off" element
in the nose diminished this wine's appeal.
Somewhat controversial, there was general
disagreement about the body. ($40)
WEBSITE
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 Markham
Merlot
1997, Napa
Valley RESERVE
Light to
medium garnet; light, sweet, ripe, complex,
fruity, black cherry, floral,
spice, nutmeg, tobacco, cedar,
eucalyptus, peppermint, Maraschino
cherry, nail polish (ethyl acetate?), smoke,
tar, dust and mineral aromas; ripe, fruity,
cherry, spicy, caraway seed and smoke
flavors; rich, mouth-filling body; good balance;
long, warm, oaky (chemical?)
finish. 12.5% alcohol. Showing some
maturity and very different style from the rest
of the flight, this was another quite
controversial wine with the panel. ($38)
WEBSITE
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 Swanson
Merlot
1999, Napa
Valley
Medium-dark
ruby; ripe fruit, Bing cherry,
roasted hazelnut, vanilla, caramel, oak,
smoke, dusty, soapy (medicinal?) and "new
fermentation" aromas; sweet, sappy, vanilla and
faint cardboard flavors; light body (thin?),
fleshy, rich, soft, dusty, light tannins;
slightly tart balance; long, slightly rough,
faintly bitter finish. 14.3% alcohol. Complex,
but somewhat disjointed, with oak flavors
dominant now; time will tell. ($25)
WEBSITE
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 Toad
Hollow
Merlot
2000, Russian
River Valley,
"Richard McDowell Vineyard"
Clear,
medium ruby-garnet red; ripe berries,
plums, raisin, meat, spice, bay leaf,
dill pickle, celery seed, floral,
vegetal, green bean, olive, stemmy,
oak, "old barrel" and tar aromas; dry,
young, under ripe blackberry, blueberry,
licorice and bell pepper flavors; smooth,
soft tannins, light body, somewhat
thin; slightly tart balance;
faint heat in the short finish. 14.4%
alcohol. With plenty of complexity and flavors
up front, this wine lacks stamina,
disappointingly wimps out at the finish line.
($22) WEBSITE
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 Whitehall
Lane
Merlot 1999,
Napa
Valley
Clear, deep
garnet-ruby; sweet, young, "new
fermentation", ripe fig, cherry, plum,
violet, leather, black olive, menthol, cedar,
vanilla, oak and "dusty" aromas;
dry, berry, cherry, plum, pomegranate, black
olive, cola, chocolate and somewhat chemical
flavors; smooth, slightly rich, medium body with
firm, meaty, chewy, soft tannins;
very good balance; blackberry flavors
come out in the medium long finish, which is
also slightly green, bitter, astringent.
14.2% alcohol. Youthfully undisciplined at the
moment, bottle age likely will soften this wine,
take away some of its "bite" and bring the
flavors into focus and harmony. ($24)
WEBSITE
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FURTHERMORE
We did have a fairly lengthy and lively
conversation that revolved around two issues.
First of all, the preponderance of
oak-derived flavors in many of these wines.
They smelled good and tasted good, but many
depended upon aroma and flavor appeal that
came largely from oak aging, not from fruit
character that identified these wines as
Merlot. As a group, they lacked varietal
distinction and fruit "punch".
The second
issue concerns value. Even the Trefethen and
Seven Hills, two of the highest ranked and
least expensive of the lot, would not find
many repeat buyers from this panel. With
$25-30 to spend on a bottle of red wine, the
majority would buy a varietal or blend other
than Merlot. Most often mentioned were
Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and
Syrah.
This
Panel
included Regulars Deanna, Bob, Roy, Jon,
Jim L., Betsy and Jim V. and Guests
Graham and Rodney
About
Merlot
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