Tag Archives: merlot

Chateau Les Ormes-de-Pez 2017, Saint-Estephe, France

18 Sunday Feb 2024

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Medium garnet colored with slight staining and medium viscosity (13.5% ABV).   The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of cassis, pencil shavings, charcoal, blackberry,  acai berry, mint, licorice, a slight green note and warm baking spices.  The palate is dry with medium acidity, medium tannins and medium body.  The tannins are integrating nicely and make for a silky mouthfeel.  Flavors that I love in Left Bank Bordeaux come out of the glass- cassis, leather, pencil shavings, licorice, blackberry and baking spice.  The finish is classic for the region- slightly tart, long and a touch dry from the fantastic tannins.  I first became a convert of this wine when we visited Lynch Bages and got to try this as part of the tasting.  For $40, I am impressed with the quality of this Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend.  91 points from me and 5 stars.  It is open for business now but will cellar nicely till 2030.  I’m pairing with Sunday roast.  Salut….

Chateau Ksara Red 2018, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

18 Thursday Jan 2024

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Deep ruby, bordering on inky garnet with slight staining and high viscosity (13.5% ABV).  The nose of this Cab Sav/Merlot and Petit Verdot blend has medium intensity aromas of vanilla, mint, black cherry, cassis, açaí, black raspberry, leather and espresso.  The palate is dry with medium acidity, medium (+) tannins and a medium body.  The palate starts off with açaí berry, followed by the cassis, black raspberry, vanilla and mint.  The tannins are very polished and chalky leading to a nice mouthfeel.  The finish is medium in length and tends towards the raspberry, leather and vanilla.  The structure of this wine is really approachable which is nice.  I find many Lebanese wines that are age worthy need a few extra years before the pieces integrate into a nice drinking wine.  This one is performing nicely and will continue to do so till 2032.  I would pair it with grilled kebabs, some roast Lamb or Filet Mignon with peppercorn sauce.  I paid $22 and would give this beaut 91 points making it a 5 star wine in my books.  Salut….

Clos St. Thomas ‘Le Merlot A’ 2010, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

24 Sunday Dec 2023

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Deep garnet colored with high viscosity (14% ABV) and slight staining on the walls.  The nose has intense aromas of cassis, ripe blackberry, black plum, coffee, mint, cocoa, vanilla, licorice and charred toasty oak.  It’s quite complex but surprisingly youthful at 13 years of cellaring.  The palate is dry with medium acidity and medium (+) tannins that are silky smooth.  A full body with ripe flavors of cassis, blackberry and plum coupled with oak-derived notes of coffee, cocoa, vanilla, charred oak alongside mint and licorice.  It’s quite a melange of flavors that carry throughout to a medium length finish.  This Merlot is young and will cellar for another decade, hopefully developing some nice tertiary aromas and flavors.  It is only available at the winery due to limited production- it’s the winemaker’s pride and joy.  A delicious wine that gets 92 points from me.  Not sure on pricing so I will award 5 stars.  Salut….

Clos St. Thomas ‘Chateau St. Thomas’ Rouge 2015, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

10 Sunday Dec 2023

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Deep garnet colored with moderate staining on the walls and a high viscosity (14% ABV).  The nose has intense aromas of baking spices with ripe blackberry, cassis, black plum, vanilla, coffee, menthol and mulberry preserves.  The palate is dry with medium acidity and medium (+) tannins that are slightly chalky.  The wine is full bodied and I get medium (+) intensity flavors of ripe black berries, finely integrated oak nuance and tertiary development.  The vanilla, baking spices, coffee and menthol are the supporting characters to the blackberry, mulberry and cassis notes.  The finish is long and delicious.  One of my favorite wineries that continues to overdeliver wines that have excellent aging capacity and bring much pleasure.  I would go with 93 points for this $30 wine that gets 5 stars.  Drink this Cab Sav, Merlot and Syrah blend till 2035.  Salut….

Chateau Haut-Bages Liberal 2017, Pauillac, France

20 Monday Nov 2023

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Medium ruby colored with high viscosity and slight staining on the walls- (13.5% ABV).  The nose of this Cabernet blend has medium (+) intensity aromas of cassis, tobacco, leather, cocoa, coffee, blackberry coulis, lavender, vanilla bean and violets.  The palate is dry with medium acidity and medium (+) tannins that are chalky.  Medium to full bodied, this wine has flavors of slightly underripe blackberry, tomato stalk, cocoa, coffee, leather, vanilla and some cassis.  The finish is medium in length and slightly tart.  It has telltale Pauillac notes that I love but is a touch underripe.  I am glad I have a few bottles in the cellar so I can watch the evolution, I think it has some more cellaring capacity and should get better.  Serving it tonight with Sunday Roast.  90 points, $60 and 4 stars.  Salut….

Concha y Toro Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot NV, Central Valley, Chile

15 Wednesday Nov 2023

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Medium ruby colored with medium viscosity (12.5% ABV).  The nose has medium (-) intensity aromas of plum, asparagus, chocolate powder and blackberry.  The green vegetal note is out of place.  The palate is dry with medium (-) acidity and low tannins.  A lightweight body produces some mediocre flavors of plum and black cherry but the green vegetable thing is still there and it’s off-putting.  The wine has a funkiness about it that I don’t care for, it’s prevalent on the mid palate and the short finish.  I much preferred the straight up Cabernet Sauvignon from Frontera.  This $8 per magnum bottle gets 78 points and a pass rec with 1 star.  It’s not worth the effort.  Salut….

Chateau Marjosse 2018, Bordeaux, France

26 Thursday Oct 2023

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Medium garnet colored with high viscosity and very slight staining (14.5% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of black plum, charcoal, mint, cassis, hedgerow, blackberry pie and rose petals.  The palate is dry with medium acidity and medium (+) tannins that are chalky and bristle a touch.  The wine is full bodied with rich flavors of black fruit and oak coupled with some pretty florals.  A nicely balanced and maturing blend of Merlot, Cab Sav and Cab Franc with a touch of old-school Malbec that makes this Right Bank blend a pleasure to drink.  I am pairing it with Ox tail stew and rice with pees.  It will develop further and cellar nicely till 2029.  For $28 this 91 point bottle gets 5 stars from me.  Salut….

Camillle Benitah Volute 2020, Napa Valley, California

19 Thursday Oct 2023

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Deep ruby colored with staining on the walls and a high viscosity (14.5% ABV).  The nose of this Bordeaux blend has medium intensity aromas of black plum, blackberry, black currants, a hint of eucalyptus, baking spices, vanilla, cedar and mint.  The palate is dry with medium acidity and medium (+) tannins that are polished.  The intensity on the palate is greater than the nose.  I get lots more black fruit which which is ripe along with mint, vanilla and baking spice.  The tannins turn a bit chalky on the back end of this full bodied wine and the finish is medium in length.  I love this style of wine  and when done with ripe fruit it can be very delicious, but this bottle seems to lack a certain depth for me.  It’s good, but not great (I’m a big fan of the winemaker btw).   90 points from me and for $25- it gets 4 stars.  I’m pairing with marinated grilled steaks and Lemon roasted potatoes.  Drink till 2026.  Salut….

Clos Apalta ‘Le Petit Clos’ 2019, Apalta Valley, Chile

08 Sunday Oct 2023

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Inky deep ruby colored with staining on the walls and a high viscosity (14.5% ABV).  The nose has intense aromas of açaí berry, cassis, mint, vanilla, coffee bean, blueberry, kir and powdered mocha.  It’s amazing to smell.  The palate is dry with medium (+) acidity and medium (+) tannins that are very fine grained.  A full body with rich flavors of açaí, blueberry, cassis and oak lashings leads to a medium (+) length finish that turns a touch tart.  Delicious stuff that gets 94 points from me.  It’s drinking beautifully now but will develop nicely till 2032.  For $40, it’s a no-brainer to stock up on that gets 5 stars.  I’m pairing with Sunday roast and a Port wine reduction. It’s a blend of 49% Carmenere, 30% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot.  Salut….

Chateau Valandraud ‘Virginie de Valandraud’ 2015, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, France

05 Thursday Oct 2023

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Deep ruby, inky in fact with medium viscosity (14.5% ABV) and some staining.  The nose has medium intensity aromas of black plum, cassis, mint, charred oak, black tea, cigar tobacco, a hint of vanilla and some iron.  The palate is dry with medium (+) acidity and medium (+) tannins that are fine grained but firm.  A full body with black fruit along with oak influence and a definite minty note carry through to a medium length finish that is a touch hot from the high alcohol.  I was hoping for more development and tbh- more depth here.  The second wine of this famed winery, it has a 70/30 split of Merlot and Cab Franc that gets 90 points from me and for $67, it’s a 3 star effort to drink till 2029.  I’m pairing with chargrilled steaks and peppercorn sauce.  Salut….