2009 Blackstone Winemaker's Select Merlot

Hello everyone!! I believe I am behind the curve on this one. I have seen this wine numerous times on restaurant wine lists, and I have passed on it. My loss! I'm actually not a big Merlot person, having been introduced to wines through my husband and the rest of his Italian family. So, the whole Merlot thing completely passed me by. However, recently I have been using a new cookbook that suggests wine pairings with the recipes and they suggest a lot of California wines, such as Merlot. I've been enjoying the velvety smooth, fruit forward, delicious and uncomplicated pleasures of Merlot. This wine very much fits that description. The color was a deep ruby red. The nose was somewhat aromatically challenged with light oak and vanilla and not much fruit. The flavor was very cherry, a little blueberry, vanilla and a little touch of licorice on the finish. What made this wine so enjoyable was the smooth creaminess. The tannins were smooth and mellow (we did open it 30 to 60 minutes before dinner, so it had a good bit of time to breath). We had this wine with pork chops in Merlot sauce, roasted cauliflower, and rice pilaf. It was a very good pairing, almost guaranteed by using some of the wine to make the sauce. It was also extremely good with little squares of dark chocolate. I know this is a simple wine, but it's so delicious and uncomplicated! It's like that guy you hang out with that makes no demands of you, just easygoing, no fuss. At $10 a bottle at Campbell Station Wines, this will probably become my go to everyday Merlot. It would also be great for parties, or for friends that aren't necessarily wine drinkers. You might turn some of them on to the pleasures of wine.

2006 Testarossa Subasio Central Coast Syrah

Hello everyone! This was a gorgeous wine!! Possibly the best wine I've ever had! We had this with little filet mignon steaks stuffed with blue cheese. The color on this wine was a deep inky ruby -purple color. The aromas were blackberry, forest, spice, and licorice. The blackberry aroma gradually became more cherry as it opened. The flavors were true to the nose. It had a long, lingering finish with just a touch of tobacco. The flavor was big, but the body was medium. What made this wine really stand out was the texture It was soooo smooth and silky! It was balanced and elegant. Different aspects of the flavor profile emerged as we drank it with different foods. With the salad there was more spice, horehound and tobacco. With the steak there was more fruit and the silky texture was more apparent. The wine was such a nice surprise! I wish I had more of it. I purchased this wine at McScrooge's over a year ago. It was on the clearance rack and I believe I paid $20 to $30 for it. It sat in my wine rack all that time, because I wasn't sure what it would be like. I tried to find Testarossa syrah on-line and found that the current vintage is sold out at the winery. The price listed for this wine was $54. I couldn't find it on-line, but I will keep my eyes open.

I'd like to take a minute to explain the lack of scores in these blogs. I feel that rating, grading, scoring wines is something of a necessary evil. How do you score poetry or art? Do I give one Shakespearean sonnet a 93 and another a 97? Do I score Michelangelo higher than Rembrandt? Isn't it better to just stand back and take it in, to let art, poetry or music move you? I feel that wine also fits into this category. This was one of those wines that had such grace and beauty about it. I've had a few other such bottles. They are best experienced, not analyzed. I know it helps consumers to look at the scores from various reviewers as a quick reference. It can be very helpful, and I use the scores myself to help select new wines. It's the ultimate shorthand for wine. I'm absolutely not qualified to score wines. I would need to drink a lot more of those inspiring bottles. Wow, that's something to look forward to!

2007 Cameron Hughs Lot 192 Napa Valley Merlot

Hello all!! We had this wine a few nights ago with pork chops and cherry sauce. This was a very, very nice pairing. The color on this wine was deep purple-ruby. The aromas were of vanilla, toasted oak, and raspberry. The raspberry darkened into blackberry as the wine opened. The flavor profile was similar and developed into blackberry, dark cherry, vanilla and a touch of cocoa. The tannins were soft and plush, but became firmer as the wines opened. And the finish started as a little short, but lengthened nicely as it opened. As expected with a merlot, this was very fruit forward and not too complex, but very enjoyable, especially with the cherry sauce on the pork chops. At $13 a bottle at Ashes, I think I'll get some more for everyday drinking. Merlots pair nicely with fruit sauces such as this, but also with spicy foods, so we're drinking them more than in the past.

2004 Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Savignon

Hello all!! We had this wine last night after dinner. We wanted something nice to sip on a very dreary Friday night. So we lit the fireplace and broke out the cheese and crackers, then moved on to dark chocolate. The wine was very good. It was inky dark with brick-red color at the edges. The nose was fairly big with aromas of dark cherry, vanilla and licorice. To me, it was a little too oaky. This did mellow out as the wine opened. On the palate there was cherry, solid but fairly smooth tannins, vanilla, licorice and dark chocolate on the finish. Again, it was very oaky. This was a really big wine that wanted a big juicy steak. It improved significantly as it opened. The oakiness really smoothed out as it opened and the wine became smoother, more velvety, and more elegant. We don't drink a lot of these big California Cabs, partly because of the price and partly because we don't eat a lot of steak, roast beef, and grilled meats. This was a very delicious wine, especially after opening. And, while it's a style we don't necessarily seek out, I certainly understand why so many people love these wines. This winemaker has an outstanding reputation and I'm really excited about having had the opportunity to try this cab. This was actually a gift from a friend. I believe it retails for at least $60 to $70 a bottle. Sorry the review wasn't more of a rave, but I have to call it like I see it. And I see it as something many people would rave about, just a little too big, and a little to oaky for my palate right now. Too bad we didn't open this with a big Porterhouse steak (but we only ever get as far as Kansas City strips). If I had the opportunity to have this again, I wouldn't pass it up, but I wouldn't buy it at this price point.

2007 Horse Heaven Hills H3 Merlot

Hello all!! We had this wine tonight with pork tenderloin, marinated in paprika and garlic, with peach chutney, and salad. The color was deep plum. The aromas were somewhat faint, and consisted of dark cherry and some oak. On the palate there was blackberry, firm tannins and cocoa. This sounds pretty yummy. And this wine had good reviews, particularly at this price point ($14 at Ashes). It was disjointed at first, but the flavors mellowed as it opened. Still, I didn't care for this wine. To me, it was thin on the mid-palate. It was described as having a velvety finish, but I found it to more closely resemble a thin flannelette. Disappointing. I prefer the 2008 Berringer Estate Founders and the 2008 Chateau St. Michelle Indian Wells to this wine. The St. Michelle's, in particular, was very good.

2008 Berringer Merlot Founder's Estate

Hello all!! Tonight we had this very nice, straightforward, honest $10 bottle of merlot. The description on the back of the bottle was actually very accurate. It's described as having flavors of blackberry, plum and toasted spice (a little oak). The color was of deep ruby. And the aromas were not real big, but were true to the flavors. The tannins were a little more than velvety, but not unpleasant. This is a very fruit forward wine, as are many California merlots. I've been trying to develop a list of acceptable everyday wines so we can move beyond the box. I find true "bottom feeding" to be a bit of a challenge, but very satisfying. We are enjoying better wines overall, and there have been some pleasant surprises (like the Alamos merlot). I may explore merlots a little more, but, overall, this could be a nice addition to our list of everyday $10 wines.

2008 Dry Creek Valley Castlebank Old Vine Zinfandel

This was a nice little wine that I picked up from WTSO (wine til sold out) online for $11 a bottle. We had this wine with homemade pizza and it was very nice with it. This is a single vineyard zin labeled from Guilia's vineyard. I don't know if this wine is available locally. The color was a dark purple garnet. The aromas were black cherry and a little vanilla. The flavors were cherry, blackberry, a llittle vanilla, and a touch of chocolate (I only got the chocolate on the finish). It was pretty light for a zin, with more acid than tannin. We couldn't help but compare this wine with the previous zin. It wasn't nearly as polished. However, it was an honest, straightforward wine that was pleasant to drink. I have 3 more bottles, and I'm looking forward to enjoying them.

2006 Cline Zinfadel

This was a terrific zinfandel from the Sonoma region in California. We had this wine with lamb chops smothered in onions, tomato, and olive. It was a lovely match with the lamb and may be the best zinfandel I've ever had. Unfortunately, I'm not sure where I got this wine. It probably came from either Bob's or Campbell Station, and of course, I'm not sure about the price. I'd guess this to be in the $20 to $30 dollar range.

The color was a deep, inky garnet with a bit of a brick red color at the edge. The aromas were of oak, blackberry, vanilla and chocolate. The flavor was of blackberry and cherry with the vanilla and chocolate previously described. On the palate it was very fruit forward, and had a wonderful smooth, rounded quality. It was very silky for a zin with well integrated tannins. The finish was smooth and lingering. It was one of those wines that was just delicious. This wine was excellent with the lamb, but would also make a great sipping wine. I think part of the success of this wine was the fact that it has a little age. This rounded out the tannins and integrated all the flavors. I will look for this again.

2007 Educated Guess Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Hello!! This was a lovely wine that we had the other night with black and blue salads. It was a little big for the salad, but not a bad pairing. It was a very delicious sipping wine, that really needs no help from food.

It had a deep inky color that was purple at the rim. The nose was dark cherry with vanilla, woodsy oak, and a little bit of licorice. The aromas blended and mellowed nicely as the wine opened. On the palate there was black cherry and vanilla. It was very smooth and even across the entire palate. This wine was just plain delicious! I went back today to get another bottle. Ibelieve this wine sells for $19.99 at Campbell Station Wine and Spirits for this wine. I understand that this wine will be featured at the next tasting on the second Tuesday of December.