[wine] Taking a week off.

Greetings, The group isn't meeting this week. Some folks are going to I Nonni aka Buon Giorno for a dinner. Others are doing presale tastings. Liq. Depot sale starts today. Free tasting from 5 to 7. Big S pre sale tasting is at the Milenium Hotel, 12xx Nicolet Mall. Spotlight is $65, starts at 5:30 Regular is $35, starts at 7:00. Lots of local rest. news. 510 will be closing, will be the new home of La Bel Vie... Parasole will be running an uptown fish place in the "Prime/Tonic" location. Stella's Fish Cafe and Prestige Oyster Bar.... The SF Gate Chronicle did a piece on Merlot today, since merlot is no longer cool and since everyone else is running a piece on the Sideways phenom. Bang for the buck goes to the top rated Sebastiani 2000 Sonoma Merlot. They de-classified the 2000 Cab w/ makes up 15% of the '00 merlot. "Varietals that we normally eschew" have made for some very interesting tastings in the past. Maybe a Merlot night could be fun. maybe.... Cheers, Jim Top 10 California Merlots - W. Blake Gray Thursday, February 24, 2005 California has 58 counties, and Merlot is commercially grown in 45 of them, according to the Wine Institute. Nobody keeps records on how many wineries in the state make Merlot, but the Wine Institute says it's in the hundreds. I didn't taste all of them, but I did taste all of the stars. I consulted with sommeliers and read media reports before rounding up California's most esteemed Merlots to sample. From that exalted group, I present this list of the 10 best California Merlots. It's possible that a small producer who was not included among the more than 100 wines sampled for this list is making a superior Merlot. But if you've heard good things about such a Merlot, I probably did, too, and tasted it. The rankings are purely my own, and personal tastes vary. I want Merlot to taste like Merlot: good fruit, gentle tannins, complex but easy to drink. I like Merlot's occasional chocolatey flavors, and I like the tang of tobacco some Merlots develop after they spend an hour or so open. And just because it says Merlot on the label doesn't mean it has to be meek. As you can see from my notes, many of California's best Merlots are full- bodied, with rich flavors and intense aromas. Gripping tannins, on the other hand, are a big turnoff in this varietal. One press release for a $34 Merlot started with: "Big and fruit forward, this wine will appeal to even the most diehard Cabernet drinker." If I want a Cabernet Sauvignon, I'll buy one -- there's no shortage. Some of these Merlots are very limited in production and may already be allocated to mailing-list customers. Your best chance of tasting them is in restaurants. Contact the wineries for information, as they often have a list of stores and restaurants that stock their wines.. 1. 2000 Sebastiani Sonoma County Merlot ($15) -- Delicious wine that's exactly what a Merlot should be. Nice aroma of dark cherry, chocolate, vanilla and black plum with hints of bacon and sage. Very smooth, sensuous mouthfeel, with rich flavors of blueberry, vanilla, black plum and cocoa bean. Develops a lingering tobacco tang with air. Gentle throughout the medium-length finish. Part of the reason this wine is so wonderful is that Sebastiani declassified its estate Cabernet Sauvignon production in 2000 because of rains that hit after the Merlot grapes were harvested; that usually exalted Cab makes up about 15 percent of this wine. 2. 2001 Duckhorn Vineyards Estate Grown Napa Valley Merlot ($80) -- Complex aroma of cherry, blackberry, lavender, coffee, graphite, cola, brick and milk chocolate. Initially tastes of cherry, red plum and tobacco with some milk chocolate and licorice; nice balance of acidity and very smooth tannins. After 30 minutes, violet flavors come out and the finish lengthens; licorice taste is stronger after an hour. The best of several excellent Duckhorn Merlots. 3. 2002 Lewis Cellars Napa Valley Merlot ($50) -- Rich aromas of juicy cherry, violet, roasted almond, vanilla and baked chocolate/raspberry tart. Juicy cherry and blackberry flavors with somewhat firm initial tannins that soften on mid-palate. Hints of chocolate and violet. Elegant. Less than 200 cases made from a small vineyard on Pritchard Hill. 4. 2001 Artesa Napa Valley Merlot ($20) -- Appealing aromas of blackberry pie, chocolate, vanilla, cola, black plum and cigar box. Flavors of blackberry and tobacco, with some leather and a hint of chocolate. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and strong acidity, but nicely balanced. Medium-long finish. 5. 2002 Pride Mountain Vineyards Napa County/Sonoma County Merlot ($52) - - Aromas of blackberry, violet, milk chocolate, orange peel and coffee. Juicy and complex on the palate, with blueberry, violet, coffee and milk chocolate. Tobacco flavor increases with air. Soft but recognizable tannins; medium-long finish. Winemaker Bob Foley says the aromas are partly the result of California laurel trees that grow throughout the vineyard atop Spring Mountain. The Napa/Sonoma county line cuts through the vineyard, hence the unusual dual appellation. 6. 2001 Hartwell Vineyards Stags Leap District Merlot ($65) -- A big, complex wine, with aromas of black cherry, blackberry, sage, rosemary, white pepper, green bell pepper and raw meat. A wall of black fruit and black fruit- scented tobacco on the palate with black licorice and black pepper. Firmer tannins than some, but well integrated. Medium-long finish. About 500 cases made by Robert Mondavi's next-door neighbors. 7. 2002 Duckhorn Vineyards Napa Valley Merlot ($45) -- Aromas of ripe cherry, leather, tobacco, milk chocolate and violet. Flavors of ripe cherry with some leather and tobacco on mid-palate. Plush tannins. Cherry flavor deepens on medium-length finish. 8. 2001 Geyser Peak Reserve Knights Valley Merlot ($41) -- This wine rewards patience. Dense, intense aroma of horse sweat, graphite, brick, barnyard, chocolate, sage and some blackberry. Initially acidic, with red currant and raspberry on the palate; tannins are subdued. After an hour, it opens, revealing juicy raspberry, violet, milk chocolate and lavender. The longer you sip it, the more it grows on you. 9. 2001 Merryvale Reserve Napa Valley Merlot ($32) -- Aromas of ripe raspberry, cherry, violet, milk chocolate, leather and cherry tobacco. Mature entry of leather; cherry and raspberry build mid-palate, with hint of milk chocolate. Very smooth tannins. Bright fruit and violet on medium-long finish. 10. 2002 Blackstone Napa Valley Merlot ($17) -- Solid, likable wine from a winery that made its name with Merlot. Dark cherry, rich dark chocolate and vanilla with hints of herb and forest floor on the nose. Somewhat shy blackberry/cherry flavor with black currant and a little milk chocolate. Nice acidity. All blackberry fruit on the medium-length finish. Page F - 6 URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/02/24/WIGGQBFGBF1.DTL �2005 San Francisco Chronicle -- ------------------------------ * * Dr. James Lee Ellingson, Adjunct Professor jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651 XXX XXXX * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *