We’re still going through the merlot tastings (although we’re almost to the end of this series). And we’re also coming out of St. Patrick’s Day weekend, so I thought I’d share a merlot that offers a little green.
This is another Chilean merlot, from the Colchagua Valley region. So the green here isn’t really an Irish thing. And it’s not green in color, this wine is reddish-purple—as a merlot should be. Really what I’m talking about with the green in this wine is a vegetal note.
The “green” in this wine is found on the nose, where it shows some green pepper and herbal aromas. But it also shows some cherry and nutmeg aromatics. The palate brings concentrated, jammy red fruit flavors, like cherry and plum. It has vibrant acidity that balances out the sweetness of the fruit. The tannins add a touch of texture to the mouth feel. It finishes relatively long, with tangy red fruit flavors.
Wine: Casa Silva
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 86
Price: $15.00
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.
It is time to, once again, talk about Chile. Today’s merlot comes from Terranoble, a Chilean producer with vineyards covering 320 hectares in the Maule, Colchagua and Casablanca valleys. They’ve been around since 1993 and, like many producers, have a number of different tiers to their wines.
This one is from the “varietal” tier, which is the lowest cost of their portfolio. It’s labeled as coming from the Central Valley, which tells me that it’s not from one specific appellation like Maule Valley.
The nose is rather pointed on this merlot, showing the some acidic and alcohol notes. It also offers some raspberry and plum. The palate is nice, with raspberry, cherry and plum flavors along with vibrant acidity. It has decent fruit without being overly jammy. The finish is medium in length and shows more of the red fruit flavors.
It’s a good wine. Not exceptional, but still quite enjoyable. And for under ten bucks, it’s a bargain.
Wine: Terranoble
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2011
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 86
Price: $9.00
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.
The many personalities of merlot make this varietal interesting, but it also means that some of those personalities are more pleasant than others.
This Santa Alicia wine comes from the Maipo Valley region in Chile and it’s a merlot with an in-your-face personality.
This merlot offers a spicy nose, with heavy black pepper, cherry, olive and mint aromas. The alcohol is also a little hot on the nose of this one. The palate offers chewy fruit flavors (ok, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, you can’t really chew on it but the flavors are dense). Jammy cherry and blackberry flavors dominate. There’s nothing subtle about this wine. It’s bold and aggressive. I definitely wouldn’t call it elegant or smooth. For those looking for an “in-your-face” wine, this one may be up your ally, but it’s a little on the bold side for those seeking something more refined.
Wine: Santa Alicia Gran Reserva de Los Andes
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 84
Price: $14.99
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.
We’ve reviewed several merlots from California and Chile over the past weeks, but how about one from Argentina. When it comes to Argentine wines, it seems like malbec gets all the attention these days, but that’s not the only good wine coming from this country.
Tilia wines come from the Mendoza wine region in Argentina. And the Tilia brand puts “sustainably farmed” front and center in their marketing materials. You might even say it’s their tag line. But what does that mean? It’s not organic. They characterize it as “stewarding responsibility in the use of our environment.” I struggle a little bit with the term “sustainability” due to the fact that their is not real measure for it. Anyone can claim to be sustainable and there is no standard that they are held to. Although I’m suspicious of the term, I like the principle.
I’m not all hung up on organic. I like organic and I’ll often buy organic produce. But I don’t think that all pesticides are evil. I don’t want excessive use of pesticides, but I accept that some use of them can help producers. And I guess that’s where sustainability comes in. The idea is “responsible” and limited use of pesticides, plus the application of other smart, environmentally-friendly farming practices. But again, there’s no standards set for this. For those of us who don’t personally know the producers, all we have is blind trust that they’re doing the right thing.
I don’t know exactly what the folks at Tilia are doing when they produce these wines, but I do know that the results are pretty darn tasty. And that’s worth a few points in my book.
Plum, blackberry, violet and cedar aromas give this wine a rich and enjoyable nose. This wine bursts with flavor in your mouth too, offering plum and cherry flavors at first, which evolve into blackberry and chocolate. The acidity is good and the mouthfeel is nice. It finishes with lingering, tart plum flavors. It’s delicious.
Wine: Tilia Merlot
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2011
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 88
Price: $9.00
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.
The Hacienda wine brand has a history dating back to 1973, when Hacienda Wine Cellars was founded by Frank Bartholomew in Sonoma Valley, California. However, in 1992 the Franzia family purchased the rights to the Hacienda brand and it is now part of the Bronco Wine Company portfolio. The original Hacienda building was turned into the Bartholomew Park Winery. Therefore, it’s not clear to me if the current Hacienda brand has any connection with the original winery and vineyard, but my assumption is that it does not. It’s now just the name of a wine.
But what is clear to me is that this Merlot is a good bargain. It comes in at under $10 a bottle and the 2009 vintage got a double gold in the 2012 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. This, however, is the 2010 vintage and it’s also tasty.
There’s a really nice cedar/nutmeg/leather layer of spices on the nose of this wine and plenty of fruit beneath that, such as plum and blackberry. The palate is brimming with juicy, ripe fruit flavors, such as plum, blackberry and strawberry. It’s a bit tangy and there’s a touch of black tea flavor on the palate too, particularly toward the finish. The acidity is good. The tannins are sufficient. It’s not the most exciting merlot I’ve tasted, but it’s solid and a great bargain.
Wine: Hacienda Merlot
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 85
Price: $9.00
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.
One of the things I like about merlot is how it can take on different personalities. This one, from the Maipo Valley region in Chile, is interesting with chocolate and spice notes that are rather unique. While it’s an interesting wine, it’s not the most elegant. In fact, I’d call it bold and brash.
It comes from Cousiño-Macul, which has a long history in Chile. It was founded in 1856 and is the oldest Chilean winery that is still run by its founding family. Like many wine producers, they offer a number of different tiers for their wine and this is from their “varietal” tier—which also happens to be their budget tier.
There’s nothing subtle about the nose of this merlot. It’s big and bold, offering cherry cola, blackberry, chocolate and nutmeg aromas. The palate is equally aggressive, with big fruit flavors such as raspberry, cherry, and blackberry. It has a tartness that will make you pucker. A dark chocolate note comes in toward the finish.
Wine: Cousiño-Macul Merlot
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2011
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 85
Price: $11.00
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.
We’ve been reviewing merlot lately and most have been reasonably priced, but we haven’t highlighted any dirt-cheap merlot… until now. This Californian merlot from Delicato Family Vineyards clocks in at a mere $5.oo.
The nose is loaded with sweet red fruit aromas, like strawberry, raspberry and cherry. It also shows plenty of vanilla. The palate is a touch on the sweet side with ripe black cherry and plum flavors. To be clear, this isn’t a “sweet wine” but it’s on the sweeter side for a merlot. There is some tangy acidity to offset the sweetness. I wouldn’t call this an elegant or sophisticated wine, but some people like this style—which is bursting with fresh fruit flavors.
I can’t say this is a style of merlot that I would choose, but I also can’t say that it’s a flawed wine. It’s easy to drink, but doesn’t have much depth, structure or character. Yet for five bucks, it’s not too shabby.
Wine: Domino Merlot
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2011
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 82
Price: $5.00
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.
If you live in the US, it’s likely that Napa Valley is one of the wine regions you hear people talk about often. Some of that has to do with their reputation for creating great wines, but some of it is just marketing. And a side effect of all that buzz (pun totally intended) is that bargain-hunters, like me, can have a difficult time finding Napa Valley wines that fall within their budget. But there are values to be found, and this merlot from Irony is a great example.
The producers of this wine say that the “Irony” name is derived, in part, based on the value of this wine coming from such a celebrated region.
This merlot is all about the spice. The nose is loaded with nutmeg and vanilla, but that’s not to say it doesn’t have fruit as well. In the fruit camp it offers cherry and plum aromas. There’s nothing subtle on the palate. It shows big plum, raspberry and cherry flavors, along with plenty of spice. The acidity is crisp and the tannins give it some texture. The finish is medium-long and offers spiced cherry flavors.
While I wouldn’t describe this wine as a terribly unique merlot, it’s good… very good. It’s a solid and dependable merlot at a reasonable price.
Wine: Irony Napa Valley Merlot
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 86
Price: $16.00
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.
A couple weeks ago, we highlighted a Concha y Toro merlot from their Casillero del Diablo brand. But as I mentioned then, Concha y Toro has a number of different brands. Gran Reserva Serie Riberas is another of their brands.
This wine comes from the San Clemente area in the Maule Valley, which is the southernmost sub-region within Chile’s Central Valley. It’s the largest and one of the oldest wine regions within Chile, although it doesn’t get as much fanfare as regions like Colchagua and Casablanca Valley. Red wine varieties do particularly well in this region and many of the newer plantings include merlot vines. The grapes for this wine are grown along the Maule River.
There is a nice balance of earth and fruit qualities on the nose of this wine, with aromas like tree bark, plum, salami and blackberry. It’s also nicely balanced on the palate, offering cherry, plum and chocolate flavors. The acidity is outstanding and really makes this wine stand out. That acidity is one of the traits often found in Maule Valley merlot. The mouth feel is slightly astringent, but still nice. It finishes with tangy cherry flavors. There’s a nice old world quality to this wine, but it still has plenty of fruit for the new world fans.
Wine: Gran Reserva Serie Riberas Merlot
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 88
Price: $16.00
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.
I tend to find that the sweet spot in terms of price to quality ratio is typically in the $12-18 price range, at least for what I want from a wine. But I know that some people come to this site looking for even better bargains than that. And so, I do look for those wines under $10 that I can recommend. This is one of them.
Twisted is a brand that I’ve come to trust as a generally good bargain brand. The Twisted wines that I’ve tasted aren’t mind-blowing, but they’re OK. And if you’re on a tight budget, you might say they’re great. The suggested retail price for this merlot is $7.99, but depending on where you shop, you might find it as low as $6.00.
There’s not much more of a story to tell you about this wine. This isn’t a single-vineyard, biodynamic-magical-unicorn wine. It’s just some tasty, affordable vino. The appellation is California, which is a pretty broad region. That’s all the story I have for you.
The taste is good for a cheap merlot—good but not spectacular. It shows ripe fruit aromas like blueberry, cherry and strawberry, as well as plenty of cedar to add some spice. The palate offers well balanced fruit flavors, like blackberry and blueberry, with sufficient acidity and tannins. The pieces are all there, but it’s missing something to make it sing, to give it a “wow factor,” to make it special. As it is, it’s OK. But it is a pretty darn good bargain.
Wine: Twisted
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2011
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 84
Price: $7.99
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.
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