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EP 803 Another Merlot Blind Tasting

Gary revisits Merlot in this blind tasting of wines around the world, with some interesting results.

Wines tasted in this episode:

2005 Chateau La BienfaisanceSt Emilion
2007 Bellanotte MerlotFriuli Venzia-Giulia IGT
Segal’s Fusion RedIsraeli Kosher Wine
2007 Osso Anna MerlotNapa Merlot

Links mentioned in todays episode.


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Tags: Blind Tasting, merlot, red, review, Video, wine, wines

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  • rieslingrich

    “Paloma” merlot out of Napa, Not overly oaked, Got Spectator Wine of the year some
    years back.

  • I had the same problem

  • GoIrish04

    Hey GV. Imagine my surprise after slacking on watching episodes to not only see the new comment format but also see you rocking the beard! It must be pretty long by now, go Jets! Fun show; I too like the blind tastings. It's way more fun to watch you go on a rant when you don't know where the wine is from.

    QOTD: Peacock Ridge Merlot. Saw you taste it. Saw you love it. Ordered it off Wine Lib. Loved it. I want more of it.

    Keep it real.

  • Cool_Dave

    In my new wine education I am not up on merlot yet. I have a Waterbrook reserve merlot I am looking forward to. Anyone out there give me a shout for a merlot suggestion under $30.00.
    Thanks my fellow Vaniacs! You are all great!!!

  • rieslingrich

    $20 is “Havens” Napa $50 is “Shafer merlot” Napa

  • MIchael C in MKE

    The live studio audience is very rare. I was enjoying it though.

  • jrodenbiker

    Zooming in on the brown bag is brilliant. I love it too.

  • jrodenbiker

    I think it's rare enough that it's special enough that Gary should acknowledge the crowd and let the viewers at home know who's there (so we can be appropriately jealous, of course).

  • jrodenbiker

    Also, I love the new comment thing, especially that they are threaded! Hooray for threaded comments!!!

  • Don Simpson

    yes…. blind tasting episodes are tremendous. can't get enough of them. suggestion, i like when you also guess where the wines are from in addition to scoring and guessing their prices.

    QOTD: i can't remember the exact chateau but when i was first really getting into wine i had a pommerol that my buddy's dad had been aging in his wine fridge and it knocked my socks off! speaking of smooth and silky, this was it. amazing.

  • Don Simpson

    recently a good value play that ive really enjoyed is the montes alpha 2006 merlot, which rolls in around 18-20 bone price point. decant for a while and it delivers some gorgeous tobacco and cigar action.

  • prodrinker

    Good show, I like merlot although not as much as malbec or cabernet.

    QOTD: Definitely, positively, TWOMEY 2002!

  • WineLou

    Italy/Merlot? Tuscan Merlot is among the best in the world, perhaps in the same league as Pomerol, little else compares. Massetto, Messorio and Redigaffi (all 100% Merlot) may be consistently the three most expensive and well reviewed reds of Tuscany. Not to mention the Bordeaux blend Supertuscans (Sassicaia, Ornellaia, etc.) that benefit from the excellent Tuscan Merlot. Merlot in Friuli is less widely planted and well known. But Villa Russiz has been making Tre Bicchieri 100% Merlot since the 90s at least and Miani is another consistent Merlot producer.

  • johnboston

    I am fairly new to the wine world and loved this episode, though it made me taste a cheap merlot I had two nights ago that was absolutely horrid… just horrid. You would have thrown in up, Gary. But a week or so before that – my last wine experience (another bargain merlot) – I found one that was not bad, and I thought I had found the key: About all the cabs I was buying prior to that buy (all in the 9-13 price point) were chemically and almost fake, so I figured I'd switch. It was wonderful, then my hopes were shattered. Keep up the good work here – And GL with the Jets. I hear a lot of comparisons being made to the '01 Pats.

  • SeattleSteveW

    Nice show, keep doing the blind tastings!
    QOTD: PEDESTAL Merlot from Washington State and made by Michel Rolland.

  • Kittysafe

    I wouldn't say Conan got shafted, I mean come on, sure he's going home, but they're paying him about 50 million to walk away… I'm not sure in what world that would be called getting shafted honestly. He'll be back doing other things we all know this, so no worries there.

    Haven't been too lucky with Merlot, honestly, but I'm willing to try new wines and expand my palate.

  • Gobi

    QOTD: Ch. Le Gay… discovered this thanks to WLTV… one of my favorites 😀

  • Attention Gary from last week, this is a message from the future. The Jets beat the Chargers 17-14 and on their way to the AFC Championship!!!

    I'm very happy to see the Oak Monster make an appearance in the Merlot show. He hasn't been around lately. Have a good time in Indy. I'll be looking for a Jet bar in Orlando Sunday afternoon. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. Thanks.

    QOTD – I would say the Havens Merlot is definitely up there.

  • Did I really? I'm all whacked out on cold meds and I guess I missed it.

  • QOTD: Can't say I'm too fond of merlot, but if I were forced to pick one, I'd probably go with the 2005 Havens Carneros Merlot. That, or maybe a Chateau Faugeres merlot I bought for my dad and brought over to my parents' house. Again, I don't seek out Merlot so short of Cab Sauv/Merlot blends and similar, I really am not too familiar. Interesting episode all the same.

    I'd love to see you do a Syrah blind tasting. Maybe throw in a little Northern Rhone, Sonoma, even Australia. I think Syrah is just such a widely-used grape and comes in so many different styles that it would be very interesting. Nice show, and I/we dig the blind tasting so keep it going!

  • Katie Marquez

    Great show. I thought it was cute that the worse you thought you the wine was, the more you guessed it cost.

    I tend to avoid Merlot, cab and the like. I feel like I can get more interesting things from Spain or S. America in my price range (which is pretty low, watch me fall in love with these things when I can afford good Bordeaux etc.).

  • Phil G

    Love the blind shows!!!

    QOTD – favorite all-time – that's hard. Favorite recently, I have really likes a few bottles of the Aiguilhe Querre wine (that you and Jeffrey Davies tasted). Nice wine at a nice price!

  • robbeishline

    off topic, but I just watched episode 275 (I'm pretty new to the show) and Gary, you rock it at the end like a pentacostal preacher. I wanted to start hollering “Sing it preacher” Great shows- liked this blind tasting today…. Hey, and on the strawberry wine, try making your own next summer if you live in a strawberry state- it's fun and a great summer wine.

  • John Rogers

    Better than the last time you had merlot but not bringing any thunder. And yes the oak monster was there and I liked it, not the wine but your reaction when it appears.

    qotd; The last merlot that brought the thunder was Barnard Griffin 2006. It had balance and style. Not to cellar for a long time, maybe a couple of years as the tannins were pretty much intergrated.

  • Pretty cool show GV…I bought about 25 bottles from Wine Library a few months back..I've been very surprised by which wines I likes and which wines I did not like…price was not a factor. And the other day I tried a cheap zin 8 buck,s that was delicious to me..I did not buy it and would not have..label sucked, cheap..but wait a minute..awesome wine….trying more wines is the only way..your right about that…..

  • ClearFrames

    speaking of israeli merlot, how do you see wines from newer regions surviving in the American market today? how difficult of a time will they have competing with french, spanish, and italian producers that have refocused on quality rather than quantity? and are they even worth investing in?

  • JohnsGSD

    In my 20s, I had a hard time enjoying merlot. Maybe my palate, maybe I was drinking crap, who knows? Couldn't stand the bitterness and the wood. I got my act together when I turned 30, started getting a little more serious about wine and learned about Bordeaux. Hello Merlot! With a capital M!

    I don't have a 'killer merlot' choice, but I've been really enjoying the 2004 Sansonnet the past couple months. I've been sitting on it for almost 2 years and am glad I did. The bitter, desert dry tannins you mention in Episode 438 are subsiding and are melding nicely with the fruit and 'old world' flavors. Great fruit, smooth, and a nice, dry, complex finish. Loving it! Definitely a food wine. Thanks G!

  • wayno da wino

    COOOOOOOL Episode, Blind Tastings are NUMERO UNO!!!!!!!!!! Mooochooo Thanx, G !!!

    qotd: “Favorite All-Time Merlot”??? Don't really got ONE…. Have had me Pomerols,
    St. Emilions, a few Californians, a few Washingtons, but NOTHING stands out where it
    was the King of da Hill…….

  • jsums

    Lovin the blind shows! More! More! QOTD – The Merlot from Northstar up in Columbia Valley. They've had a few somewhat off years here and there, but when it's good it's crazy awesome. For me, they define the standard of what Washington Merlot is all about.

  • winecrazy

    Nice beard Homey. You should grow your hair long too like I'm doing…..

    My favorite merlot…….hummmmm. Well….. Since I didn't get an email notifying me of toodays show, I would say the comments do have a few glitches as you mentioned. Might want to get the Mottster or Brandon on that one. I need my WLTV!!!

    OK, Fav Merlot……probably 2004 Blackbird I had a few bottles a couple years ago and still have one left. YUMMMMMY!!!!!!!!

  • Beeper

    Good show…always love the blind tastings. The message at the end is the reason I watch.

    QOTD: Had a great St. Emilion at a restaurant in Vegas…no idea what it was, pry never find it again…

  • Uck, Merlot, Syrah, hate em, don't have a favorite. Way too single noted, way too tanniny. Help, I want to try a good Merlot.

  • larbear

    My favorite Merlot is Chateau Croix de Gay. It is a 100% Merlot from the Pomeral region. The 2008 future are going for $23 bones.

  • larbear

    My favorite Merlot is Chateau Croix de Gay. It is a 100% Merlot from the Pomeral region. The 2008 futures are going for $23 bones.

  • larbear

    Try the 2001 Croix de Gay. It is all Bordeaux and yet it's merlot

  • teckdeck2008

    Qotd: I honestly don't have a favorite wine. The truth is i'm a bad wine enthusiast. I don't drink nearly enough wines to have a favorite let alone a favorite in a specific varietal. Its something I plan on changing soon though, since I just graduated and I'm looking for a job.

  • Ben

    The Velvet Devil 2007 by Charles Smith $11

  • Loving the inter-wine chatting with Mott; good peanut gallery you have there too.

    QOTD: Hmm probably a Stag's Leap that we had as a family for a celebratory birthday dinner a few years ago. Great company and great times.

  • Ben

    it's

  • GreggB

    Big G, Love the blind episodes. Always a good learning experience. I have recently started putting Merlot on a bigger rotation in my Wine choices. So gonna have to try some Italian Merlot now.

    QOTD: Leonetti

  • slugmaster

    qotd: I have been a fan of Columbia Crest Merlot Reserve. It is a 90 point wine that I used to be able to get for under $15. But, no longer. Sadness,

  • fanglangzhe

    Favorite merlot over last 12 months is Craggy Range Hawke's Bay 07 from New Zealand.

  • Anonymous

    Great Choice! Don’t know if you have ever had the chance to visit but they are one of the most knowledgeable and accommodating wineries in napa.

  • Dominic C.

    If you happen to be in CA, I would strongly advise you to go for a 2006 Haven's Merlot at a KL that is 6.99. Havens has been abuzz all over the WL and pretty much a lot of wine enthusiasts. At 6.99, you really really can't wrong.

  • lawschooldrunk

    Love the blind, Gary!

    Sad to see the kosher didn't have any nose. But thanks anyway!!!

  • passthecab

    any havens merlot, love that winery – too bad it went under…

  • Cool_Dave

    Alright, just to piss Gary off I e-mailed my favorite wine merchant and ordered a Montelena Cabernet, Chardonnay and Zinfandel just because a saw bottle shock a couple of years ago.
    Alright, I did want to try them anyway to see if this big famous winery sucked or rocked. I did not get the estate Cabernet that is $ 115 bones justt the Napa Cab . I'm not totaly wacko.

  • slugmaster

    Laura,

    Some of my favorite wines are the Walla Walla sayahs. Try Cougar Crest or Cayuse. GV has done some shows on them. They are not cheap but worth the money.

  • seanieb

    Ironic, the very second you commented how silky smooth the second wine was I had google searched Silk (the soy milk) to see it's nutrition facts. I love your blind tastings and I thank you for opening up my wine vocabulary to the not so traditional palatable descriptions. I totally had a wine that tasted like starburts this past weekend in Napa. I'm now going to start keeping a journal or catalog of my friends and my tasting descriptions when we go wine tasting.

  • Qotd: gotta agree with some comments here and say that Washington state is producing some nice Merlot, quality and price range. Columbia Crest Grand State is my favorite Merlot, amazing for the price (under $10). And Cougar Crest for a couple of more bucks, also bring the thunder…
    Great episode. More blind tasting Gary!!!

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