Gary – Chateau Cheval Blanc, 1961, was produced with only 12% merlot in its final blend – it always majority Cab Franc.

Jw (post 66). Matanzas Creek used to be prime merlot juice – now totally downhill after big corp bought it in late 90’s. The ’99 you should DRINK NOW. MC was already going downhill then. My ’97’s are now over-the-hill and it was produced at peak of their quality.

QOTD: don’t buy much merlot anymore. Currently drinking through cases of ’97 Pride and ’95 Chateau Clos de L’Eglise in my cellar.

But why drink merlot when you can drink cab franc?

Seriously, though … although I grabbed a few bottles of the Miradero out of curiosity, I don’t think I’ve had either of the go-to merlots I grew up on, so to speak, for a couple of years at least–Veramonte from Chile and Estancia from the Central Coast.

I’m not a big Merlot fan – seems kinda bitter to me. But I’m a huge Marilyn fan, so I’ve been given about 6 bottles of Marilyn Monroe Merlot — all still unopened.

QOD: I notice there’s always a bottle of Foxhorn Merlot around the house, so that must be my wife’s favorite. In fact, she has a Q 4 U: “Ask Gary what he thinks of Foxhorn Merlot and Cab as regular everyday house wines.”

Over & out.

Bill V.

I love how Gary is recommending foie gras with the $12 merlot. I’m sure John Q. Public buying his $12 merlot will get right on that!

🙂

Orion9 (post 64). The Beringer Bancroft Ranches of the nineties were legandary stuff. The’94 & ’95 were Black Licorice bombs with amazing length. More concentrated than almost any cabernet outside of Harlan. Very Oaky. You have to love oak. I have not had one since the ’97 vintage though (another great wine), and can’t vouch for current vintages.

Orion9 (post 64). The Beringer Bancroft Ranches of the nineties were legandary stuff. The’94 & ’95 were Black Licorice bombs with amazing length. More concentrated than almost any cabernet outside of Harlan. Very Oaky. You have to love oak. I have not had one since the ’97 vintage though (another great wine), and can’t vouch for current vintages.

Hello Gary,
I have to agree with a previous post- Pride Mountain Merlot is fantastic! I wish I had more in my cellar.
Actually, just about any wine from Pride Mountain is terrific but hard to find in my area.
Enjoy your vacation.

Greg W

Such a suprise – bonus show. First merlot that favorably comes to mind is a Rancho Sisquoc from several years back. They’re from out in Santa Barbara.

Based on the episode and the comments, it doesn’t look like we are helping the Merlot cause much. Heve a great trip Gary!!!

QOTD: 2004 Casillero del Diablo Merlot from Chili isn’t bad for $9.

Gary,

I don’t drink much Merlot due to the fact that almost all of the inexpensive Merlot is garbage, and and the really good stuff is expensive(and I’d rather spend that type of $$ on other grapes). Some fantastic Calif Merlot include Pride and Lewis Cellars. I believe that WA state does Merlot better than Calif. Some good WA Merlots that will not break the bank include Gordon Brothers and J.Bookwalter.

MBG

This is a question Gary, not a comment. What’s your favourite restaurant in NYC with a great wine program and why? Any recommendations? Some great ones here in Toronto. I’m a fan of wine lists and restaurants.

Can’t say that I drink a lot of Merlot these days (which has nothing to do with Sideways). It’s just that there is so much other stuff out there to try. I used to drink a lot of Clos du Bois and Franciscan Estates Merlot back when I was starting out. But since then I usually don’t reach for Merlot unless it’s something special. I’ve had some pretty memorable Merlots in the past year, including l’Ecole No. 41 (Washington State), Leonetti (also Washington State), but probably the most memorable was Falesco’s Montiano (Tuscany). I loved all three of those wines, but those aren’t exactly everyday wines are they?

COLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLTS!
Thank YOU football gods!

Comment 48: By garyv on January 22nd, 2007 at 4:59 pm

Hey Gary-
Thanks so much for the Merlot episode!
This is one of the few varietals I have been drinking for 18 years!
Yeah, I know, I know. I started drinking Merlot as a baby!
Seriously, I do honestly like Merlot.
QOD: 2002 Biltmore Estate Reserve Merlot is one that I have enjoyed.
I know you are shocked!?!?
BTW:
GO COLTS!
🙂

Long time lurker (watcher), new poster:

QOTD: Washington, IMO does Merlot better than anyone else in the US. My go-to’s: Hogue Genesis: this is serious Merlot just under $20; L’Ecole No. 41: always good quality…maybe not the best but you can always rely on it bringing something interesting to the table for the $$; No brainer: Columbia Crest, either Two Vine or Grand Estates…CC is an easy choice–their wine maker is an artist on a grand scale.

I would love to see a tasting of some other Merlots. This varietal got bitch-slapped from Sideways, and I’m not sure your choices for this episode were the best for the price range, even though they are your best sellers. I love Pinot Noir like no-other, but certainly not at the expense of another classic varietal. It’s not like Merlot is Norton or something. I’m not drinking NO F*&*(@ing Norton!

97 Sebastiani, oh it drank so well. Anything Washington State, an absolute steal for the money and it doesn’t stop with Merlot.

I had a bottle of McManis Merlot recently that was fairly painless… As for GV not mentioning the Colts/Bears, I wonder if he didn’t do a little pre-recording prior to the vacation romp?

2003 and 2004 Blackstone Merlot are dissappointing.
2001 and 2002 Blackstone Merlot were ok for everyday drinking wines.
I recently drank a 1999 Geyser Peak which was quite good.
Prefer Cabs or cab/merlot blends…but I find that the vintage year and some storage (3-5 years) makes a major difference even on some of the less expensive wines.

Hey Gary, I’ve noticed that darker is almost always deemed “better” when it comes to color in red wines. A wine I drank recently left a residual red hue on the inside of the glass. Made me wonder if it wasn’t some sort of artificial color enhancement. Are we as consumers demanding that every red wine be a teeth-staining, inky concoction? If so….why?

QOD – Has to be Washington State Merlot….you can almost never go wrong with Columbia Crest.

For around 13 bucks, I love the ’04 Concha y Toro Marques de Casa Concha Merlot!
Besides Merlot, I am enchanted by Francis Coppola’s Claret… what a finish! (And nobody’s rated this?!) Wow!

Also loved the 2001 Keenan Merlot ($30 per bottle)!

Thanks for the episode, Wine Guy. For goodness sake, I hope you are not reading this. Enjoy your Vay-cay!

Got a bottle of Rancho Sisquoc Merlot at the winery during a visit. As I recall it tasted great. They had a hard time selling it (ala Side Ways), so they were dumping it at 1/2 price. Need to pop it soon.

Lars

Hey Gary. Good reasoning on that: “Hey connoiseurs, don’t forget the children of the lesser gods”. Like that ;-).
QOTD: 1) An inexpensive Merlot: Viña la Rosa La Palma Merlot 2005; solid bottle, spicy, black fruits, some earthy overtones, just good for this price (� 5) 2) Expensive Merlot: Clos Fourtet 1999; leather, earth, very lush, yet elegant, nice dark fruits (bramble), good lift on the finish (� 44) 3) My absolute favourite: Independent Minds Merlot 1998; vibrantly fresh, no signs of bottle age, superb focus and delineation, elegant black berry salsa, blond tobacco, mint, very long and savoury finish, well integrated tannins, almost perfect (� 17).
So, Merlot doesn’t stink for me. Not really my winey balls, but, well yes, can be very nice.

QOTD:

My favourite Merlot-based wine this year is the Chateau Peyrou from the Cotes de Castillon in Bordeaux. It sells in Ireland for 18 Euros.

I recently had a Clifornian Merlot I liked that was given to me as a gift. I think it was called Pine Ridge (?). I really enjoyed that – though I have no idea what it would cost.

I think it’s absolutely rediculous that people would be so influenced by a movie. Sheep! Didn’t you say the 1999 Haut Brion had a lot of Merlot? Certainly pop culture influencing someone to dog on such a wine is absurd…