April Wine Focus - Merlot "Star or Co-star?"

[Jenise]

Richard, you weren't blocked at all, as I presume you now understand. Glad you're back.

Re Silverado, my husband and I fell in love with their wines as we fell in love with each other over bistro meals at a splendid French cafe in Costa Mesa, California, which gave us our first wine bar experiences as well--seriously good wines in good glassware! Silverado's sauvignon blanc was a staple favorite of ours until we depleted their supply, and I believe we tasted some reds though it was so long ago I can't be sure of that now. I believe the winery sold so god knows what kind of quality across the board exists there now, but when this local retailer recommended this I could not, of course, refuse it.

I know Delheim well, and am a fan of their wines, but not this one. BTW the family owned and operated wine farm is celebrating their 80th year in 2021

Glad you posted that, Peter. I am half way through case of the 2001 Delheim Grand Reserve (Bordeaux varietals) and just put one out to open this week.

In Germany there are quite a few vintners who have a more or less fixed list of regular customers. Our house vintner, the Weingut Messer-Kalsch resides in Herxheim in the Palatinate. They produce very food friendly red and white wines at purse friendly prices and deliver to our door twice a year.

In the late 90s and early 00s Thomas Messer experimented with maturing wine in barrique barrels. Unfortunately this was not really acknowledged by most of his clients who did not accept paying the extra €s which support such an approach.

This months theme makes us open our precious last bottle of the 2004 Merlot.

Nose: Cigar Box, dark prune and lovage. A hint of celery and in the beginning turpentine.
Palate: Maraschino cherry, dark coffee. And a nice cool, silken mouthfeel.
Finish: Medium short, slightly bitter.

All in all lovely, in particular for < 10€.

[Jenise]

Last night for dinner we had salad with oven fries (a Meatless Monday favorite) which we dipped in a diluted catsup-sriracha sauce (purposefully dilute and unsweet) which may not sound good to you but trust me, it's great and really went well with:

2012 La Stella Maestoso Merlot, Okanagan Valley, BC
PnP'd. Immediate nose of marionberry pie, cocoa dust and tree bark. On the palate, dense and brooding marionberry, loamy-forest floor and chocolate. But not a sweet cocktail wine, it was better with food and over the two hours in which we fawned over it, the fruit retreated and the chocolate advanced to where it and tannins dominated the finish. All in all, a fantastic bottle that would shock even the most hardened merlot critic and actually worth the $100 price tag.

Yes, that is an excellent wine. Their Espressivo isn't bad either

[David M. Bueker]

In Germany there are quite a few vintners who have a more or less fixed list of regular customers. Our house vintner, the Weingut Messer-Kalsch resides in Herxheim in the Palatinate. They produce very food friendly red and white wines at purse friendly prices and deliver to our door twice a year.

In the late 90s and early 00s Thomas Messer experimented with maturing wine in barrique barrels. Unfortunately this was not really acknowledged by most of his clients who did not accept paying the extra €s which support such an approach.

This months theme makes us open our precious last bottle of the 2004 Merlot.

Nose: Cigar Box, dark prune and lovage. A hint of celery and in the beginning turpentine.
Palate: Maraschino cherry, dark coffee. And a nice cool, silken mouthfeel.
Finish: Medium short, slightly bitter.

All in all lovely, in particular for < 10€.

Wow, 10€. That's generic Bordeaux pricing. Hard to make a living at that price level.

[Jenise]

Yes, that is an excellent wine. Their Espressivo isn't bad either

Don't believe I've had or seen that. A blend? I purchased this, btw, in the tasting room when we went there with you guys back in 2016.

[Jenise]

Served last night with lamb meatballs in a spicy berbere sauce:

2000 Château Yon-Figeac St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend
Over 80% Merlot. Good purple-garnet color for 21 years, bright and plummy, correct on every level, good right off the bat with or without food and completely right for the dish I served it with, but I dunno. It just didn't excite me the way a good 20 year old Bordeaux usually does.

Maybe I like merlot-based wines a little younger.

In Germany there are quite a few vintners who have a more or less fixed list of regular customers. Our house vintner, the Weingut Messer-Kalsch resides in Herxheim in the Palatinate. They produce very food friendly red and white wines at purse friendly prices and deliver to our door twice a year.

In the late 90s and early 00s Thomas Messer experimented with maturing wine in barrique barrels. Unfortunately this was not really acknowledged by most of his clients who did not accept paying the extra €s which support such an approach.

This months theme makes us open our precious last bottle of the 2004 Merlot.

Nose: Cigar Box, dark prune and lovage. A hint of celery and in the beginning turpentine.
Palate: Maraschino cherry, dark coffee. And a nice cool, silken mouthfeel.
Finish: Medium short, slightly bitter.

All in all lovely, in particular for < 10€.

Wow, 10€. That's generic Bordeaux pricing. Hard to make a living at that price level.

I should have added that it was a 0.5 l bottle and it was the price in 2006, but I agree, it was not a product to make a living from. Mr. Messer complained that his clients considered this wine too expensive while they had no problem paying similar or higher prices for an "international wine".

With the climate change there is more and more bargain red wine in the Palatinate maybe not really competing with France but getting close. Among others we really like his Cabernet Mitos at 7.5€ for .75l

That sounds a nice one Win_fried. Maybe the Palatinate, though warm for Germany, is becoming a better place for Merlot than Bordeaux outlying appellations. Here is one from Côtes de Bourg, which IMO could do with more freshness. I fear that warm vintages like 2018 have become the norm in Bordeaux.

2018 Château Fougas - France, Bordeaux, Côtes de Bourg (28/04/2021)
This wine, made by organic methods from Merlot 60% and CabSauv 40%, is round, ripe and fragrant but I would have welcomed more acidity and minerality in order to make it "fun" to drink. This may in part be due to a ripe vintage. I shudder to think how cloying it might be without the Cabernet. Nevertheless almost good.
Posted from CellarTracker

Ken Forrester Merlot Pat`s Garden Reserve, Stellenbosch.

Purchased 2 yrs ago after a very good in-house store tasting when I was quite impressed. $31 Cda. 14.5 % alc (rather high for me usually). Vintage is 2016.
Deep plum red in color, nose featured mulberry, strawberry, hint of oak...."bell pepper" from across the table. Think 9% cab franc?
Some warmth here, dry, ripe tannins, pepper, leather, herbal. "Dried fruits" hint of chocolate on finish but a tough brute. Not what I expected after the store tasting? Plummy, blackcurrant..as I said not easy drinking.
Cannot remember the food, sorry.