2003 Powers Merlot, Washington
We were test driving a few inexpensive merlots for a tasting we're doing, and in a field that included McManis, Concannon, Columbia Crest and RH Phillips, this was the standout (at $10) and worth mentioning in a TN of its own. All the other bottles had a little taken from each, but this one got finished. Good mix of red and black fruit with lots of blackberry, good acidity and no obvious oak or sweetness. Toward the end of the bottle, it acquired the distinctly Italian notes of metal and raisins. Funny, sangioveses never taste Italian here, but this merlot does. Not typical, but we liked it.
2000 Ruffino Lodola Nuova Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Splendid acidity and purity, black cherry, plum and spice. Shows well now but could use more time.
1998 Marchese Antinori Tenute Chianti Classico Riserva
Thick blackberry flavors, strange for a CC. Especially by comparison to the above wine, the wine seemed overextracted and New World in style. Very soft acidity. Pleasant to drink, but this isn't what I hope for from Chianti.
NV Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne Rose, Nuits St. George
Surprisingly big body and complex flavors--amazing, really, for a $13 wine. An off-dry sweetness weighs down the finish, but the wine's so bold it carries the sugar. Amazing value.
1996 Pride Merlot, Napa
Soft plummy flavors with a bit of leather. Delicious. A friend's last bottle, and we agreed that if he had other bottles they'd get drunk sooner than later, this wine has peaked.
2003 M2 Clone 6 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa
Quite a contrast to the Pride. Juicy and jammy, presents itself more like a Sonoma zin than a Napa cabernet. Lots of red fruit, no Rutherford dust. Quite a pleasant glass of wine and popular with the crowd (I took it to a party), but just not what you expect from Rutherford+Cabernet.