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Merlot tasting...

107.205.10.55

Posted on July 20, 2017 at 10:49:21
mkuller
Audiophile

Posts: 38130
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: April 22, 2003
...I have never been a big fan of merlots. When I got serious about wine in the 1980s, merlot was mainly used to blend with cabernets to soften them.

Then cabernets became more expensive and merlots started to be popular as a less expensive alternative. I thought merlots didn't have much of a finish and much preferred zinfandels or cabs. Then came the film "Sideways" which panned merlots and their popularity dropped somewhat.

...4 of us (the others were on summer vacation) tasted 5 merlots. We began with "merlots over $30" but to fill in I brought a second, less expensive bottle.

We rate the one we like best 1pt and the one we like least 5pts. Low points wins.

5. 2013 Rexford Santa Cruz - $35 - 18pts - 3 lasts - had a slight off-taste - when the wine group was in Santa Cruz last summer we tasted at this winery and a number of us bought their merlot.

4. 2014 Markham Napa - $22 - 14pts - 1 last - I picked this one because this winery has been known for their inexpensive merlots for over 20 years.

3. 2013 Reynolds Napa - $48 - 12pts - 1 first, 1 last

1/2. 2013 Stags Leap Napa - $38 - 8pts - 1 first

1/2. 2013 Sheridan Mystique Yakima Valley WA - $31 - 8pts - 2 firsts (Total Wine) - the guy who brought this and I both had daughters who went to school at Gonzaga in Spokane, WA. When we would go up to see their basketball games, we would always go wine tasting during the day. We found the WA merlots to be much better than ones we were used to finding in CA and this one seemed to show that.

Obviously the Sheridan and the Stags Leap are the ones to try. I would drink either of those, but at the price I could find a much more interesting zinfandel.

 

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RE: Merlot tasting..., posted on July 24, 2017 at 15:42:32
triodesteve
Audiophile

Posts: 802
Location: Walla Walla Washington
Joined: September 4, 2001
I'm not surprised that you would like the WA wine. No doubt we are a better place to grow
the grape. California had done as much damage to the grapes reputation as the movie.
What surprises me is that you prefer a Zin. A grape that holds no interest for me at all.
It's always intriguing how people are so different from one another.

I just bottled my first non wine club merlot a few weeks ago. I'll only sell it in my tasting rooms for now. Just to see how it's received.

Steve

 

Zinfandels..., posted on July 25, 2017 at 09:42:33
mkuller
Audiophile

Posts: 38130
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: April 22, 2003
...probably not suited for WA, but you should try a good Turley or Bedrock and it may change your mind.

 

RE: Zinfandels..., posted on July 25, 2017 at 11:45:07
triodesteve
Audiophile

Posts: 802
Location: Walla Walla Washington
Joined: September 4, 2001
Not suited to WA at all. Yet a few always try.

I went to ZAP a few years ago and tried them all. Alcohol too high, residual sugar too high. Too fruit forward. Just not my thing. I would say that Turley was one of my favorites at the event.
I remember liking Brown Estate also.

 

Brown Estate..., posted on July 25, 2017 at 12:08:31
mkuller
Audiophile

Posts: 38130
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: April 22, 2003
...is one of my favorites.

Obviously, you have good taste.

What I like about zins is that because of the fruit you can drink them without food (or with) and the good ones are pretty complex.

I don't mind the alcohol - I like big wines.

 

RE: Brown Estate..., posted on July 25, 2017 at 12:14:19
triodesteve
Audiophile

Posts: 802
Location: Walla Walla Washington
Joined: September 4, 2001
Hahahaha.
And thats why I don't like them. I mostly drink wine with food. I am anti-big wine.

See...we are on the same page, just opposite ends!

 

Good thing..., posted on July 25, 2017 at 20:13:56
mkuller
Audiophile

Posts: 38130
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: April 22, 2003
...Robert Parker never reviewed your wines :-)

I like more subtle ones, too - like some of my wife's chardonnays, a rose by the pool and even pinot noirs, but not the light kool-aid style.

 

RE: Good thing..., posted on July 25, 2017 at 20:23:37
triodesteve
Audiophile

Posts: 802
Location: Walla Walla Washington
Joined: September 4, 2001
Luckily for me, he hired someone else to do Washington. But that person keeps changing and I don't have a subscription so I don't even know how I did this year.

I have to say, I hate his Pinot. Its an affront to the grape in my opinion. And I don't like the international style of winemaking that he has promoted.Not at all. I know I'm fighting against the tide, but you know, I have a 50 year old turntable here waiting to restore so I am not exactly on top of things.

 

Whose pinot? (nt), posted on July 25, 2017 at 20:28:49
mkuller
Audiophile

Posts: 38130
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: April 22, 2003
(nt)

 

RE: Whose pinot? (nt), posted on July 25, 2017 at 20:32:15
triodesteve
Audiophile

Posts: 802
Location: Walla Walla Washington
Joined: September 4, 2001
Parkers. I think its mostly his brother in laws but Mr Parker is one of the owners: Beaux Feres'
in Oregon. Big big Pinot

 

Beaux Feres'..., posted on July 25, 2017 at 20:41:02
mkuller
Audiophile

Posts: 38130
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: April 22, 2003
...I like theirs - I have tasted their $80 and the $100 a couple of years ago. They are big - I liked the $80 one better.

I think Robert Parker is only involved financially.

I had a 90pt WS Argyle Oregon pinot and it was like kool-aid - didn't interest me.

 

I agree with both of you, posted on July 26, 2017 at 19:16:06
jimbill
Audiophile

Posts: 3042
Location: Texas
Joined: May 31, 2004
I enjoy a good monster fruit bomb every now and then. Zinfandels, Shiraz, black fruit Pinot, GSM's done in the new world style, Napa Cabs.

But I enjoy them on their own, sitting listening to music, much like a port. I will pour them for dinner because most of my guest enjoy them. But I don't think they add anything to the food I've prepared. They actually kind of battle the food for dominance.

Lower alcohol and lower residual sugar wines typically work better with food.

I've personally never been to a fine restaurant that paired wines with their courses that used big ass wines. Of course, if the winery is putting on the event...

 

I agree with both of you..., posted on July 26, 2017 at 20:58:07
mkuller
Audiophile

Posts: 38130
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: April 22, 2003
>I've personally never been to a fine restaurant that paired wines with their courses that used big ass wines.>

The zinfandel dinner I go to every year at a fine restaurant pairs the food with the wine - last March it was pork with a tomato sauce.

Big wines go great with barbeque or Italian food.

 

RE: I agree with both of you..., posted on July 26, 2017 at 21:54:08
jimbill
Audiophile

Posts: 3042
Location: Texas
Joined: May 31, 2004
So it was a Zinfandel tasting with food.

 

Some others agree with me and Steve, posted on July 27, 2017 at 11:57:04
jimbill
Audiophile

Posts: 3042
Location: Texas
Joined: May 31, 2004
Even with barbecue I think fruit bombs are wrong. Beer!

 

And others..., posted on July 28, 2017 at 08:24:15
mkuller
Audiophile

Posts: 38130
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: April 22, 2003
>Big wines are about power and pleasure and simple, unabashed hedonism. Made from grapes that are totally ripe, they're wines with big, rich flavors, a generous amount of fruit and relatively high alcohol levels—15 percent and more. They're also precocious; that is, they're ready to drink upon release, although many will benefit from cellaring. A great example of a big, intense wine that has proved to age well is the Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet made by the highly regarded Bob Foley.>

Indeed! I've met Bob Foley and really like Pride wines. And I'm a big fan of Turley's wines, as I thought you were. (One of my best friend's wife used to be the banker for Turley, Pride and numerous others.)

But while I prefer big wines I drink any good balanced vino.

Beer? On a hot day a good pale ale or IPA, otherwise not so much.

 

Missed my point, posted on July 28, 2017 at 08:48:37
jimbill
Audiophile

Posts: 3042
Location: Texas
Joined: May 31, 2004
I belong to Turley, Bedrock, Carlisle, and Siduri (Novy Zins). I do like big wines but I believe they are better alone than with food. I will drink them with a steak and such but I don't think they enhance the food. They tend to dominate the taste buds.

I don't drink that much beer any more. But as a young man I loved to try different ones from around the world.

And certain foods just don't lend themselves to wine.

 

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