WTN: Local Wines, Luna, Lodi...and a plaint about Napa Merlo

2003 Watts Dos Amores. A "Bordeaux Blend" from Lodi with a quite savory/earthy/elegant character. Def. "Old World" in style, whatever that means. Consistently good over the years...we may be working our way through the last case, though.

2005 Luna Vineyards Merlot. decent, textbook Napa Valley merlot with warm primary plum and cherry fruit, some tannins still present. A technically well made and fine quality wine, but as with other too many other higher end Napa Merlots I have sampled, a little bit boring, to be honest. Not bad or anything, just not very interesting.

Does a wine need quirks or even flaws to be interesting? I ask this because my reaction to the Luna Merlot is very similar to my reaction to Duckhorn and Twomey...two other higher end, well made, very "clean" Napa Merlots that were ultimately, to my taste, boring. Given the tannic structure, is the reason simply that we drank this merlot way too soon? Would it be interesting in five years? Or, is it just that I prefer varietal Cabernet and Bordeaux blends? Not sure about Merlot at this point.

2007 Quercus Solano County Cabernet Sauvignon. Made by my neighbor John Gilpin from a rocky site at the edge of Suisun Valley. Very, very young and primary, but unlike the 2006s, which I found almost undrinkably extracted and jammy, this young 2007 wine was bright and brash and quite enjoyable. Bold raspberry and cherry fruit, with a ton of palate cleansing acidity and some tannic backbone. Very enjoyable, even if not in the earthy/funky style I prefer.

I pretty much agree with you wrt the Merlot. However, that being said, I'm going to pick up a few pails of Merlot from across the border in Canada to blend with Cab Franc grown on the US side of the Niagara River this year. I do think it enhances CS and CF.

And maybe it is the blending that does it?

I have enjoyed a few Merlots out there. Havens (R.I.P.) One of my favorite California wines of all time was a Merlot...a 1995 Farella Park Orchard Block Merlot made from senescent vines (he told me that they don't even produce enough grapes any more to allow for bottling a vineyard designate wine) was savory and earthy and tarry and delicious! So, maybe it is the primary fruit that is the problem...there might be the acid and structure to wait here.

Does a wine need quirks or even flaws to be interesting?

In my opinion, no.

Aside from the fact that 'interesting' and 'boring' are very subjective terms, I think the real issue is that these wines are probably too focused on achieving a standard product across vintages that does not reflect the nuances of site/weather. But I wouldn't call those nuances 'quirks'.