Merlot "tasting"
In February of 2004, we held an informal tasting of Merlot
wines. This tasting was prompted by a similar tasting published on 02/20/2004 by
the Wall Street Journal. They tasted their favorites from past Merlot tastings,
and they had good things to say about some very inexpensive wines.
In general, 2001 was a good year for California Merlot, so we
focused on that year. We tasted the wines in order of price, and the
"even"
wines were preferred by most tasters. One wine we did not taste is the 2001
Francis Coppola Diamond Series Blue Label ($16), which is one of my favorite
Merlots.
I was surprised by how well the Talus and Bogle Merlots fared in
this tasting. These wines are both great bargains! These tasting notes are the same ones shown on the Merlot page.
Description |
$ / * |
Tasting notes |
2001 Fetzer Eagle Peak
California |
6
* |
02/2004 Fair wine - very light body and fruit. This
was the least interesting of the wines. I have enjoyed other vintages of
this wine much more.
Not recommended. |
2001 Talus
California |
7
** |
02/2004 Nice - medium body and fruit. This has
real Merlot character, which surprised me. We tasted this from a magnum
which only cost $11. |
2000 Christian Moueix
Bordeaux (France) |
8
* |
02/2004 Fair wine - light body and fruit. This
was noticeably different from the other wines. It had some herbaceous
character. |
2001 Bogle
California |
9
** |
02/2004 Nice - medium body and fruit. This has
real Merlot character, which surprised me. I had heard good things about
this wine from other people before. This wine was the favorite of the
entire group. |
2001 Franciscan
Oakville Estate
Napa (California) |
20
** |
02/2004 Nice - Full bodied, medium fruit. This
tastes pretty good, but it was quite tannic. I think it needs at least two
years of aging. Otherwise, have it with a grilled steak so you won't
notice the tannin. |
2001 Markham
Napa (California) |
21
*** |
02/2004 Very Nice - Full bodied, nice nose. This
tastes really good, with enough fruit to balance the tannin. It will
improve with aging, but is quite drinkable now. |
Wine Ratings: * Fair, ** Good to Very Good, *** Excellent |