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Murdering Merlot

Craig Camp

By Craig Camp
in Wine

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Craig Camp

Craig Camp

Posted
Posted

Last night I opened a bottle of 2000 Terrabianca Il Tesoro Merlot. My friend Roberto took a sip and said with amazement, "THIS is a merlot?" Yes indeed this extraordinary bottle was 100% merlot. It reminded me that this varietal indeed can be great.

So why does everybody murder merlot? I'm not talking about the mass of cheap merlot that has flooded the market, but about bottles with serious prices that pretend to be serious wines.

Outside of Pomerol what are the really great merlot wines being produced today?

I will enthusiastically put my vote behind the Terrabianca Il Tesoro - a great bottle by any standard.

Craig Camp

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GordonCooks

GordonCooks

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Posted
Last night I opened a bottle of 2000 Terrabianca Il Tesoro Merlot. My friend Roberto took a sip and said with amazement, "THIS is a merlot?" Yes indeed this extraordinary bottle was 100% merlot. It reminded me that this varietal indeed can be great.

So why does everybody murder merlot? I'm not talking about the mass of cheap merlot that has flooded the market, but about bottles with serious prices that pretend to be serious wines.

Outside of Pomerol what are the really great merlot wines being produced today?

I will enthusiastically put my vote behind the Terrabianca Il Tesoro - a great bottle by any standard.

I will giving this Merlot a try - but If I don't like it, you'll be hearing from my attorney :biggrin:

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Craig Camp

Craig Camp

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Posted
Last night I opened a bottle of 2000 Terrabianca Il Tesoro Merlot. My friend Roberto took a sip and said with amazement, "THIS is a merlot?" Yes indeed this extraordinary bottle was 100% merlot. It reminded me that this varietal indeed can be great.

So why does everybody murder merlot? I'm not talking about the mass of cheap merlot that has flooded the market, but about bottles with serious prices that pretend to be serious wines.

Outside of Pomerol what are the really great merlot wines being produced today?

I will enthusiastically put my vote behind the Terrabianca Il Tesoro - a great bottle by any standard.

I will giving this Merlot a try - but If I don't like it, you'll be hearing from my attorney :biggrin:

WARNING: Il Tesoro is still a baby - I would suggest at least 5 years in a cool dark place.

Craig Camp

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ludja

ludja

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I haven't tasted any great Pomeral's....so I'm wondering how better Merlots from Sonoma like:

St. Francis

&

Matanza's Creek

would compare?

Any candidates for excellent Merlots from Sonoma or Napa?

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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Craig Camp

Craig Camp

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I haven't tasted any great Pomeral's....so I'm wondering how better Merlots from Sonoma like:

St. Francis

&

Matanza's Creek

would compare?

Any candidates for excellent Merlots from Sonoma or Napa?

I would put Matanzas Creek into the category of an EX-great merlot. Today it is just another Kendall Jackson sweet-fruit-bomb and the price/value relationship of Journey is an embarrassment to the California wine industry.

It's been awhile since I tasted St. Francis, but I don't remember being impressed.

Craig Camp

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ludja

ludja

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Thanks Craig Camp; I haven't had Matanza's Creek in a few years, but at the time I remember liking it better than others I've tasted.

That said, I should probably troll around a bunch of Merlot threads here to learn more.

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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Craig Camp

Craig Camp

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Thanks Craig Camp; I haven't had Matanza's Creek in a few years, but at the time I remember liking it better than others I've tasted.

That said, I should probably troll around a bunch of Merlot threads here to learn more.

It used to be an excellent merlot, but after the McIvers sold it to Kendall Jackson that was the end of that.

Craig Camp

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Carolyn Tillie

Carolyn Tillie

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Any candidates for excellent Merlots from Sonoma or Napa?

I've been opening and impressing folks with GunBun's 1998 Merlot (I've cellared several cases and it is aging VERY nicely). Their 2000 isn't bad either.

I've been taking nips out of the barrells of my weekday job, Ladera. They will be offering their first Merlot from a 2000 vintage which is already in a bottle, but the 2002 and 2003 which I barrell taste are pretty impressive!

I MAKE FOOD JEWELRY!

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Carolyn Tillie

Carolyn Tillie

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Duckhorn made a nice Merlot.

...also isn't Duckhorn a little pricey for "nice"?

Yeah, they make a number of Merlots:

Napa Valley - $48.00

Howell Mountain - $65.00

3 Palms Vineyards - $75.00

Estate Grown - $80.00

These are all varying vintages between 1999 and 2001. I'll pay those prices for a Cabernet Sauvignon, but not for a Merlot...

I MAKE FOOD JEWELRY!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Feast Blog

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Brad S

Brad S

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Duckhorn made a nice Merlot.

...also isn't Duckhorn a little pricey for "nice"?

Just walking softly.

The last Duckhorn I drank was the 1990 vintage, I found it complex with deep rich fruit (black) beautiful sweet toast with a nice long finish.

I wish I had the disposible income to continue to drink some of these type wine,but $75 for an average bottle is to high for me.

I am happy al though I purchased many Napa wines for 84/85 and 86 as well as a # of excellent wines from Europe 82/83/85/86/89/90. So I am drinking mostly from my celler these days.

Turnip Greens are Better than Nothing. Ask the people who have tried both.

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SethG

SethG

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I offer this with my usual caveat: please disregard my opinion on wine. I don't know what I'm talking about.

But a friend recently brought to our house a bottle of Groth Merlot that she bought while touring wine country in California, and I was prepared to hate it, but came away pretty impressed. What do people who know think of Groth? I think their Merlot retails for 30 or 40 bucks. I'd certainly prefer the first-rate Chateauneuf du Pape you could get for that price, but still, I was very happy with the way it tasted.

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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malarkey

malarkey

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I'll pay those prices for a Cabernet Sauvignon, but not for a Merlot...

Now this is something I've heard before and I don't understand yet... why is it that cab is seen as more 'worth it' ? Is Merlot just incapable of reaching the levels of complexity of a cab sauv? Why is it Merlot is looked down on?

As someone who knows very little about wine, <standard caveat> I have a few bottles of Regusci 2000 Merlot and I think its really a fabulous wine. Big fruit bomb. really full and rich. Delightful to drink.

Born Free, Now Expensive

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KatieLoeb

KatieLoeb

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Outside of Pomerol what are the really great merlot wines being produced today?

St.-Emilion??? :blink:

Sorry - I couldn't resist.

There are some nice merlots coming out of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Schiopetto and Pighin are two excellent producers.

From CA, I like the Storrs Winery St. Ysidro and Havens from Napa. Both in the $25-40 range and very rich and tasty without tasting like "Merlot Lozenges".

Now this is something I've heard before and I don't understand yet... why is it that cab is seen as more 'worth it' ? Is Merlot just incapable of reaching the levels of complexity of a cab sauv? Why is it Merlot is looked down on?

It's all about the aging potential. Cabernet can last a lot longer than Merlot. But as nice as it is to lay stuff down for far-into-the-future reference, I could get hit by a bus tomorrow. :huh: Since I can't take it with me, and I've no one to deed my tiny "estate" of wine to, I'd just as soon find things I can enjoy now and into the not-so-distant future :cool:

Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor

Author: Shake, Stir, Pour:Fresh Homegrown Cocktails

Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol

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Boris_A

Boris_A

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Matanza's Creek

This was the only name coming to my mind.

I exchanged a case of Chatenauneuf Becauastel 94 against Matanazas 92 some 8 years ago. The only Merlot I've ever had comparable to Pomerol/St. Emilion.

And it aged gracefully. I've three bottles left. A bit more fragile now, but still great.

A pitty they changed winemaking. Beringer was close then (94 Bancroft Ranch). Further I liked a bottle of Ecole no 41 some weeks ago. A present of a visitor from Washington. But Matanzas was far away.

What's the story behind Matanzas? I mean, you have terroir, you're capable of producing such wines and impressing European Pomerols habituees and then you change that?

BTW, here and there I find very decent priced Merlot bottles ($16-20) in the Bordelais backwaters like Lalande and Cote de Bourg.

Make it as simple as possible, but not simpler.

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Brad Ballinger

Brad Ballinger

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Craig,

Another great example from Italy is Fattoria di Rodano's Lazzicante. Some may also tout Falesco's Montiano, but, for my palate, the Lazzicante shows much more terroir-like character. It costs slightly more than the Montiano, but it's a much better wine. Surprisingly, Rodano's Monna Claudia (half cab, half sangio) sells for about half the price of their 100% merlot Lazzicante.

Heading north to France, some Fronsac wines I think do a good job for a fraction of the cost of Pomerol. In particular, Chateau Dalem and Chateau Fontenil (but you have to like Michel Rolland's style). But my sleeper is Chateau Sergant from Lalande-de-Pomerol.

In California, I used to like Lewis, but confess to not having had one since the 1995 vintage several years ago.

We cannot employ the mind to advantage when we are filled with excessive food and drink - Cicero

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