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...last week my wine tasting group tackled a half dozen merlots in a blind tasting.Here are the results - ranked from 1 to 6 by each taster with the lowest score being the top wine.
6. Rodney Strong Sonoma 2007 $13...............20 pts
5. Chateau St. Michelle Indian Wells 2008 $16..18pts
4. Marilyn Merlot Napa 2008 $25................18pts
3. Zerba Washington State 2005 $40.............17pts
2. Newton Unfiltered Napa 2006 $42.............16pts
1. Hall Family Napa 2007 $21...................16ptsAs you can see, none were very distinctive or stood out from the group.
There were 5 tasters and 5 different first place votes. Also 4 different last place votes - wine #5 got 2 lasts but still had fewer points than #6.
Where there was a tie, the one with more first and seconds or fewer last place votes was ranked higher.
This confirmed why I don't drink merlots - I wouldn't buy any of them.
I have had good merlots from Pride ($60) and Duckhorn, but for those prices I prefer a good cab or zin.
Edits: 06/12/11Follow Ups:
My opinion only:
Napa is not for Merlot. Merlot does very well in WA. and are often bigger and more complex than cabs. Grown in the wrong place or made without care any varietal can seem unworthy.
The best bottle of wine I've opened in the last 8 years was a 1999 Northstar CV Merlot. 100 % Merlot but it sure didn't seem like it. I didn't want that bottle to end.
Just my opinion.
IMO, Napa and other places suffer the push towards fruit bombing when making merlot, as well as not blending enough other grapes into them. The grape has a softness from low tannins to begin with without over ripening it.I've had some excellent merlots from California. The first that comes to mind are some Markham from 8 or 10 years ago, and some recent Chappellet's.
But if you want it done right, search out some of the merlot dominant blends from the right bank of Bordeaux.
Edits: 06/14/11
I think its more accurate to say " when grown in Napa (or where ever) Merlot is soft in tannin. That's certainly not the case here. And certainly not in France. As always with every variety (some more than others) where it grows is so important to the end product.
I thought the merlot grape had lower tannins than, say, cabernet sauvignon. I know you can increase tannins elsewhere by using new barrels, pressing the grapes harder to extract from the stems and seeds, etc..
Are you saying the merlot grapes in Napa are less tannic than elsewhere?
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