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