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.

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.

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 Chateau Ste Michelle Indian Wells Merlot

Hello all!! We had a very nice merlot this evening, with breaded, oven baked pork chops (a nice pairing). It had a deep garnet color, and aromas of blackberry and vanilla. It started out a little rough around the edges (it is a 2008). But it opened up nicely into a lovely velvety fruit forward Merlot. This is exactly what people like about Merlot. It was a beautifully balanced fruit forward velvety pleasure to drink. As Gary would say, it had a high delicious factor. It's not particularly complex, but it was yummy! I got this for $20 at Ashes last night. I'm not generally a big Merlot fan, but I may have to keep a bottle around.