This delightful drink is just what you want a nice Merlot to be. Fruity and rich, with a nice balance between the blackberry flavors and deeper ones of earth and sage, it’s marked by soft, dry tannins and a dollop of smoky oak.
— S.H.
(8/1/2003)
Quite ripe and seductive, with heady aromas of blackcurrant, cassis and well-charred oak, and soft, lovely tannins. Glides across the tongue like velvet, carrying complex, pretty flavors. Try cellaring for a year to let the flavors knit together.
— S.H.
(9/1/2004)
From a popular clone developed at U.C. Davis, an interesting, complex wine brimming with flavors of tart green apples and a richer streak of fig. Oak adds nuances of smoke, cream, vanilla and spice.
— S.H.
(5/1/2003)
Here’s a good value. Has rich aromas of citrus fruit, gooseberry, and even ripe peaches and smoke. The flavors are rich and fruity. A little weightier than most Sauvignon Blancs. Plenty to like.
— S.H.
(11/1/1999)
This is a young, hearty wine, dark and brooding, whose power is still considerably closed in. The aroma hints at blackberry preserves, anise and milk chocolate. It’s soft and accessible, with tons of concentrated, ripe berry fruit, but needs a few years to show its best stuff. Finishes long and spicy.
— S.H.
(12/15/2000)
Soft, velvety and oaky, a gentle wine with polished flavors of blackberries, cherries, milk chocolate and cinnamony spices. Not a cellar candidate, but delicious tonight and through 2005.
— S.H.
(11/15/2004)
An everyday Chard that won’t break the bank. Has decent apple and peach aromas, with some toasty oak notes, and it drinks dry and clean.
— S.H.
(11/1/1999)
A very nice wine, with flavors of blackberries, olives and herbs wrapped in lush, soft tannins. Doesn’t have a great amount of depth, but there’s plenty of stuff to like.
— S.H.
(6/1/2003)