Wild Haven 2010 Reserve Merlot, Horse Heaven Hills (Washington)

I'm a fan of wines from the Horse Heaven Hills of Washington.  I discovered this region through Columbia Crest and their series of wines from this Washington sub-region and since I have been looking for and tasting wines from there every chance I can; this one I picked up on my recent trip to Florida.  After a spectacular dinner at Hillebrand with my wife and our weekend guests I thought I'd pull this one out to share in one of my wine-obsessions ... my "niece" and her boyfriend were in town and their interest in wine is just starting to hit a fewer pitch, meaning they'll try everything and anything just for the experience (yes I am still talking about wine here).  This wine proved to be just what the doctor ordered for a night cap ... lots of blueberry and raspberry on the nose followed up on the palate with blueberry, cocoa and spice - the wine proved itself to be dry and spicy in the best of ways and it was a nice capper to the night ... that is until I said, "hey let's try one more ... how about a dessert wine?"  And it was only fitting that I pulled out a chilled bottle of Hillebrand 2004 Late Harvest Vidal ... to read about that one you'll have to click here, and you'll want to, cause it was a real beauty.

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RJ Vinedos 2006 Pasion 4 Merlot (Argentina)

This screwcap Merlot from Argentina started off very slowly, in fact it proved to be pretty harsh at first and I began to believe it was not going to get better - but 30 minutes later it began to wake up and show a nose of blackberry, blueberry and cocoa ... on the palate there was cassis, blueberry skin, dried blackberry and a subtle, enjoyable smoky-oaky finish.  Goes to show you, sometimes all you need to do is give it some time and it'll opened nicely.

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Laura Hartwig 2001 Reserva Merlot (Chile)

Not sure what prompted me to pull this bottle out of the cellar; I was in there re-arranging a few bottles and one of the ones I put my hands on was this Merlot from Laura Hartwig.  An interesting wine to say the least and a nice little pairing with my homemade burger (dinner).  It was smoky with licorice notes, spiced-dried-cherry, cinnamon-cocoa and some foresty floor notes that emerged fully after about an hour of being open ... there was a certain kind of sweetness on the finish that mixed well with that smoky-licorice and spice, most likely from the 15% alcohol.  Definitely not for those looking for fresh fruit in their Merlot because this one is showing its age, but for those who like age on their wines this one sure delivers.

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Carmen 2002 Reserve Merlot (Chile)

It was a long day.  Started out at the Ontario Wine Awards judging Chardonnay, Gamay, Rose and a variety of red blends ... then I popped in on my parents to see how they were doing (not home).  Then went to visit one of my oldest friends (time wise - years wise) and his family - then I pushed off for home with a grocery store stop along the way.  There I bought a pound of ground beef and pork and the plan was to make homemade burgers.  But with my wife out of town there was no way I was eating 2lbs of meat, no matter how good that sounds ... so I made two burgers and turned the rest into a meatloaf (and I have to admit, now that it's out of the oven it looks pretty good).  But I also opened a bottle of wine this evening and a Chilean Merlot at that ... with some age on it:  a 2002 to be exact.  I seem to be breaking a lot of corks these days and this bottle of wine was no different - I snapped this one in the middle, was able to remove another quarter and pushed the rest into the bottle; then I poured a quite a bit down the sink trying the rid the wine of cork sediment.  As for the wine itself; it was definitely far from fresh fruit, but it had some really good structure and backbone that made it an interesting beverage at its current age.  Smoky dried blackberry kicked it off, adding in leathery notes and chalky tannins.  There were hints of all kinds of tertiary things such as cedar y-vanilla,  cinnamon smoke and hints of cocoa (that showed up with time).  There was also an exciting anise cinnamon aroma that began to show an hour from opening.  Pretty interesting wine at 11 years of age ... a good, tasty wine, if you like 'em aged.

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Three Wines on a Saturday Night (California / Chile)

My brother and his family came over for dinner tonight and we decided on some simple fare, namely sausages (from Garden City Meats) of 6 different flavours- that kind of flavour combination needs a variety of wines, and so I picked out a couple.  We started with the Belle Glos 2009 Meiomi Pinot Noir, one of my favourite California Pinots, I can't afford the single vineyard offerings but this 3-region blend is a real beauty, black cherry throughout with good acidity and a touch of an earthy quality that gives this wine some real character.  Next wine was suppose to be a Cali-Merlot but appetizer time went a little longer than expected, and so I grabbed a bottle of Montgras 2005 Reserva Quatro, this is a 4-berry blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenere and Malbec.  It started out pretty muted but then started to offer up black licorice-mint, dark berries and a nice long finish.  While the Montgras was a last minute addition to the menu the RH Phillips 2005 Toasted Head Merlot was always set to make an appearance which is why right after I opened and refilled some glasses with the Chilean blend I opened and decanted the American Merlot.  Inspired by the 2001 I opened earlier in the week I thought it might be nice to open this wine to see how it was making out.   Hate to say it but I might have killed it with the decanting.  While the 2001 had some real character, granted all of the aged variety, the 2005 just seemed to sit there - yes it was smooth and silky but other than saying it was an easy drinking red there is not much else I can say about it; maybe if I hadn't decanted I'd have more to say. 

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RH Phillips 2001 Toasted Head Merlot (California)

Earlier this week I posted a piece for Ottawa Life about California Merlot which garnered a short conversation on Facebook between someone who loves Merlot and someone who finds it to be a vile weed (but a good blending grape).  I would have to say that lately I have tasted quite a few really good Merlots made in Ontario from the 2010 vintage - but that really has nothing to do with this wine.  I was prompted to dig a little deeper in the cellar to see what I could find in the Merlot department with a little age on it.  My last foray into aged Merlot was not a happy one - so I was hoping for better this time.  Not sure whether the Toasted Head was meant to age but I will say it didn't do too badly.  At first the nose was that of dried blackberries, smoke and anise ... the flavours is where it played a little game of possum at first: smoked/dried herbs and dark berries with a toast of earthiness ... it then became more defined with smoked-dried cherry and cinnamon, herbal while it continued to smooth out ... cheeking out the glass as I swirled the wine I noticed quite a bit of sediment coating the glass ... I also found that as it sat in the glass it developed more spice character but never lost that smoky/dried cherry quality - and that was a good thing.  And a very good thing for a twelve year old Merlot.

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Two More Ruined by Plastic (California / New Zealand)

I am about to get up on my soapbox ... let me just drag it over here ... test it's stability ... tap the microphone ... and here we go:

Two fallen soldiers with tarnished toppers

Tonight I was appalled and also embarrassed by what I found under two, count 'em, two capsules ... neither was expected and neither was welcome - plastic cork.  I don't know what the fascination with plastic cork was in the mid-2000's but for god sake it is really starting to get on my very last nerve.  I understand that natural cork was letting us all down (at the least 10% of the time) and I get the point that screwcap looked cheap - but to opt for something like plastic, who thought that was a good idea?  Now in truth, of the two bottles I opened I had real faith in one of them, the other was more of a lark:  Delicato 2005 Merlot and Cooper's Creek 2003 Tom Cat Merlot ... I suspect you can guess the serious versus the lark ... but both wines were absolutely horrible (worse than I ever imagined), and that is not what I was expecting from Delicato.  Let's start by describing the wines in there present form ... and I must say these aren't all my words.  [Sidebar:  the reason I was also embarrassed (just a little) was that I opened these wines up for my wine class in the hopes of showing at least one good aged Merlot]  The Delicato wine was oxidized, funky and off-putting, "wet old shoes" was one of the descriptors used on this night ... the wine was prematurely aged and undrinkable.  But that wasn't half as bad as the Tom Cat - (now how much faith can you put into a wine like this?) but the odor was horrible, one student mention it smelled like their "green bin" the other said "rotting vegetables" ... whatever moniker you put to it it was not good, not good at all.  

Once again I make the plea to producers to please, please, please in the name of all that's good and holy to please put on your labels some indication that the wine is sealed with a synthetic cork (read: plastic), that way I, as a consumer of your product, will know not to lie it down - in fact I'll make a special rack in my cellar specifically for plastic corked bottles, those are the ones I can open immediately or as the fourth bottle on a bacchanalia-like evening, you know that time of night when nobody can tell the difference between a good bottle and rot-gut.  The sad part is that with all the research about plastic corks and longevity there are still wineries who insist on putting "reserve" designated wines under plastic cork (one I know about right here in Ontario just released some beauty 2007's under this closure, say goodbye to them by next year).  Something has to be done.  As consumers we have to start demanding better labeling for instances of plastic cork ... as a writer I have to make it my mission to alert everyone about plastic cork on bottles, that way I at least give them fair-warning before they make the decision to lie it down.  Plastic cork is fine for drink-now bottles (2 years max) but for anything you hope to have a future with (say 5+ years) no plastic should  be used.

Funny thing, it just so happens that I am going to visit the largest manufacturer of plastic cork (NomaCorc) later this month, I will have plenty to say on the issue of plastic corks ... I would love to hear what they think of the age-ability of wine under their product ... I can bet you dollars to donuts they're going to tell me their research is much different than my practical findings.  I know, keep an open mind and all - but I can't seem to get over the number of bottles I have encountered that have been totally ruined by a ill-placed and ill-thought out closure ... maybe that's a little harsh ... the question comes down to this:  do you blame the closure or do you blame the producer?  The closure is inferior for long term aging - the producer is negligent in not telling you about the closure ... maybe I've found my culprit - now how do we get wineries to tell us about their choice of bottle sealant?  Earlier this week I had lunch with a major Italian wine producer, and he seemed intrigued by the concept of putting that kind of information on the label ... will I have to make my pitch one winery at a time?  Or better yet, why don't we all put the bug in their collective ears.

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A Tri-Fecta of Rosemount Wines (Australia)

I was prompted to pull out a bottle of Rosemount wine by my mother, who called to tell me she had just had a lovely Rosemount wine the night before in a restaurant and wanted to know where she could get the same bottle.  I told her that I believe it to be readily available at the LCBO (Ontario's liquor monopoly) - this prompted me to check my CellarTtracker account for bottles of Rosemount I might have in my possession.  Turns out I have (had) 6 bottles of Rosemount wine - three from 2002 and three Show Reserve GSM from 2006.  Thought I would try one of the older bottles ... then another ... then another.  The first bottle I opened was a 2002 Shiraz/Cabernet - I believe part of the diamond line -  yuck, alcohol laced raisins, this bottle had gone very sherry-like, somewhere between PX and off-putting ... I looked more closely and found the offending plastic cork at the end of my corkscrew ... I ran downstairs and grabbed the other two bottles.  The second to be opened was a bottle of 2002 Cabernet/Merlot, part of the same series, it was a little better but hardly worth drinking - it was laced with sherry notes but also had some elements of dried fruit - but not appealing in any way.  Again sealed with plastic - this stuff is a blight on bottled wine.  Finally, with a heavy heart I opened the 2002 Merlot (it had a purple label) and was sealed with a cork, a natural cork.  There was NO sherry noticeable on the nose or palate.  There was a forest floor aroma, dried fruit, wood-derived tannins - but with some hints fruit roll-up (fruit leather) ... then came mocha which lasted to the finish combining all aspects of what the mid-palate was experiencing:  forest floor, dried raspberry and strawberry ... while not the best wine I have ever tried I found this 10 year old Merlot to be quite exciting and interesting at the same time.

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Twisted Tree 2005 Merlot (British Columbia)

This is a bottle I brought back from the Okanagan Valley, which seems like forever since I've been there, but in actual fact it's been only 4 years (which is quite a while in the wine world).  I remember this being one of my favourite visits, it was deep in the Osoyoos which is the southern most part of BC.  Everybody always talks about N'kmip, but this Twisted Tree winery was a little hole in the wall and they made some pretty outstanding wines.  But this is more a case of wanting to hold on to memories longer than one should - and this bottle of wine is a perfect example of what can happen when your memories over-shadow you common sense.  I kept waiting for that perfect time to open the bottle and it seemed a visit to mom and dad's house might provide that opportunity tonight, (after all I did the Okanagan trip with my mom for her 70th birthday).  The wine was a shade of brownish-red and the nose hinted at earthy-wooden notes while also giving off dried fruit like blackberry, sour cherry and cassis.  It drank pretty nicely for its first hour but then it turned and turned quickly, it's as if a switch had been pulled, the fading of the wine started to take place and continued to do so exponentially.  It was here that the wine turned woody and slightly vegetative ... sigh ... the waiting might be the hardest part but when you wait to savour and it and it turns on you quickly, that might be even harder.

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Friday Night and Four Wines Down (Chile, Australia, Washington)

Twas the night before my birthday, and into the house, we welcomed some friends to take part in a souse (sousing that should be, and actually it was for dinner it turned into a sousing, for one of us at least).  This evening, four bottles were consumed and one stumble away into the darkness - thankfully his wife was sober enough to get him home.  The evening started with a Chilean Chardonnay (Vina Maipo 2011 Vitral Chardonnay) - turned out to be a very quaffable wine with good acidity, nice fruit, hints of vanilla and a creamy smoothness on the finish.  Next up, to pair with tonight's "classic" pork roast dinner (the "classic" moniker was on the packaging), I pulled out two Penfolds wines: 2005 Koonunga Hill Shiraz-Cabernet and the 2005 Thomas Hyland Shiraz ... I wanted to see how these two wines had aged.  The supposition, before I opened the bottles was that the straight Shiraz would outperform the blend because of its price and quality on the Penfolds scale.  Unfortunately, the Shiraz-Cabernet was never given a fair shot at trying to out-best its pricier counterpart as it was sealed with a plastic cork.  While my guests were generous (to a fault - no pun intended) about the blend it was obvious that the Shiraz was the one more up to the task.  While the Koonunga Hill was slightly oxidized (and got more so with each 5 minutes that passed) and according to my guests, "drinkable as a third bottle" - the Hyland was nicely peppered and spiced with lovely dark fruit and could stand to be aged another few years if not more.  I knew it was time for one more when I saw my guests pour themselves from the skanky-ass Koonunga bottle.  I quickly asked what they would prefer and a Washington Merlot was suggested.  Columbia Crest 2007 H3 (Horse Heaven Hills) Merlot ... what a stark contrast to the aged Aussie.  The Merlot was juicy without being jammy, smooth and mellow, as one expects Merlot to be, with some sweet fruit driven elegance.  Everyone tried at least a sip - the aforementioned wobbler/stagger-er polished off most of the bottle, but all agreed it was one of the best Merlots they had had in quite some time.  Thanks for coming over (and you know who you are) - let's do it again soon, it was a lovely evening ... even if (I am sure) one of us had a massive headache the next morning. 

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Laborie 2001 Merlot (South Africa)

Two things intersected tonight: 1) I was watching Sideways before dinner (it was on TV) and 2) I started looking for a Merlot in my cellar after Miles had his tirade against the grape being consumed at dinner.  If you've seen the move you know what I am talking about, if not, stop reading this post and get thee to the television and find that movie (or your video retailer, it's worth owning).  Now, what led me to South Africa is another story - I guess I was looking for something older and my experience with South African wines has always been one of them needing time to shuck the stink and get into something you're happy to drink.  This one still had elements of it's "South African stinky-ness", but it was more on the palate than the nose.  The aromas were faint at first but turned into mocha, vanilla and a hint of something more earthy.  The palate was altogether intriguing with cocoa starting everything off then moving into smoky notes, then dried blackberries and cassis, adding a hint of tar and finally emerging with a defininte coffee note on the finish.  An interesting wine and not what I would call your typical Merlot.

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Two Aussies and a Californian (Australia / California)

The title of this post sounds like the beginning of a very bad joke ... but the only joking was during the evening as we had friends over for plenty of wine, lots of laughs and a trip down memory lane.  My wife opted for beer and the other spouse decided she was driving so it was just the men who polished off the following three bottles - much to my head's chagrin the next morning:

We started with a bottle of Thorn-Clarke 2009 Merlot from Australia, which we paired with the simple dinner of meatloaf and potatoes we consumed.  My wife was appalled by her new potato recipe, which she made in the crock-pot.  The taste was alright but the red skinned potatoes leached a funny colour into the concoction.  Everybody still ate them with gusto.  As for the wine: smooth blackberry and nice spice.  I continue to like this Merlot as it ages.  The next wine was also an Aussie: Thorn-Clarke 2008 Terra Barossa Shiraz ... why so much Oz tonight?  Because that's what my guest was thirsty for.  The Terra-Barossa Shiraz was a plummy, vanilla and chocolate affair that is a quintessential Aussie Shiraz ... not too jammy, and very delicious.  Finally it was time to introduce our guests to a bottle of Californian Cab, Rebel Wine 2006 The Show Cabernet Sauvignon.  The bottle is a lot of fun with its old time circus style logo - this was the one with the cowboy on the front - and the wine inside was a showstopper: mocha, dried blackberry, cassis and plum; it showed itself to have a little elegance after the jamminess of the Shiraz.  Once we all come down off our hang-overs (a problem one of us did not participate in) it'd be nice to see them again, or as the hanging ornament in our living room states; "I like the nights I can't remember with the friends I can't forget" - or something like that.

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Mt. Boucherie 2005 Summit Reserve Merlot (British Columbia)

It's been a few years since I have been in British Columbia, but I still have wines from my trip in my wine cellar, so I decided tonight, with my parents in attendance for dinner, that I would dig deep and find something recognizable (to my mother anyway - she came with on the trip).  This Mt. Boucherie seemed like the perfect thing to pull out.  The nose was slightly spiced and dark fruited, while the palate was not exactly juicy (as one would expect from a Merlot), but it wasn't too wooden either (as one might think a Merlot would take on) ... it was, as Goldilocks would say, "just right": darker fruit, spiced wood character that was very easy to drink, especially when aerated.  I would not say this wine is at it's peak I would say it's just on the other side of it.

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World Tour on a Friday Night (France / Australia / Ontario)

Friends from Toronto came over in the evening (9:23pm) and the wine started following - as well some game meat sliders hit the BBQ (wild boar and kangaroo) ... so the big reds seemed to be the ones to bring out.  In honour of the kangaroo the 2008 Stalking Horse Shiraz seemed the good option, plummy, chocolate and dark fruited, big alcohol, really full in the mouth.  For no apparent reason I also opted to open a beauty of a French wine from the Languedoc, Domaine de Bachellery 2007 Grenache Fut de Chene.  The dark fruit shines on this one with touches of vanilla and spice; a seemingly delicate wine that proved to be delicious with both burgers, but still showed power and boldness once you got a few sips in.  The evening ended a few hours later with a bottle of Peninsula Ridge 2010 AJ Lepp Vineyard Merlot (http://ontariowinereview.com/wine-reviews/peninsula-ridge-2010-aj-lepp-reserve-merlot-); which proved to be the best wine of the evening (and I'm not just saying that because I live in Ontario) - it was delicate with mocha and coffee notes on the nose, and proved to be a complete opposite to the big-and-bold-ness of the French and Aussie wines.

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Eugenio Collavini 2001 Merlot - Isonzo del Fruiuli (Italy)

Over the next few days I will be sipping and sampling wines from the 2001 vintages from around the world ... there's no conspiracy as to why I am drinking wines of this certain age, I was just messing around in the cellar the other day and thought maybe I should be drinking up my seemingly vast collection of 2001 wines (make room for the newer stuff).  So over the next three days you'll see more reviews of wines from over a decade ago.  Tonight's candidate in the category is a wine from Italy's Friuli region, a Merlot - not usually a grape many consider a traditional Italian grape, but they do mess around with the international varieties.  This was an interesting wine and one I wish I had more than one bottle of; after a decade in bottle it proved to have a wonderful mouthfeel and smoothness to it.  Dried red fruit and blueberry lead the charge here, with a touch of some cedary notes, there also seemed to be quite a bit of spice (probably from the wood) in the early going.  But after an hour it settled down and became a wine you could sit and sip on for most of the night - which is what I did ... let's hope the other wines from a decade ago hold up just as well.

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Torres 2004 Atrium Merlot (Spain)

So much for a soft, fruity Merlot - especially if you wait 8 years to drink it.  This Spanish offering - not a place you see a lot of Merlot from was all dried blackberry and a touch earthy on the nose ... but I have no problem with that ... I also didn't have a problem with the spiced dried dark fruit that went across the  mid-palate or the dry cedary notes that appeared on the finish.  I have to admit though, I found the funky cigarette ash linger in the throat almost a bit repulsive ... sad part is I got used to it - anything so that a bottle of wine does not go to waste.

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Jackson-Triggs Okanagan 2002 Proprietors' Reserve Merlot (British Columbia)

For all those who still think Merlot is soft and juicy you might want to reconsider that.  As the wine gets older, and made under the right conditions, it shucks the soft and juicy and develops more interesting and more complex flavours and aromas.  Tonight I yanked a wine out from the deeper part of the cellar, yet managed to stay in Canada, as a Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Merlot was the wine of choice.  The wine kept getting more interesting throughout the night, what started out earthy turned to dried leaves before settling nicely (and for the rest of the evening) into dried berries and fruit leather.  The palate seemed to have the same reaction, starting out as a very spicy and peppery number before coasting along in the latter stages with dried fruit a la blackberry and cassis ... as the night wore on the palate dried out even more to the point where there was super dry fruit and hints of wood holding it up.  This wine has held up rather well, but what really ends up coming out now is the spicy / peppery notes ... I suggest if you have some kicking about it's time to drink it up, but give it a little time in a decanter - not too much mind you - or you'll be left with too much wood and not enough fruit ... this really is a balancing act of a wine - there's a sweet spot here, you just have to have patience to find it ... forget the decanter go with a big glass and a lazy evening where you can sip and sample away.

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Concha y Toro 2005 Casillero del Diablo Merlot (Chile)

Last night was pizza night and so I was looking for something Italian in the cellar when my hand found its way to the neck of this bottle ... and so I for-went (???) the Italian and decided to open this Chilean instead ... and what a wonderful surprise it was too.  I know that Concha y Toro make excellent wines, but to find it here in the $12 range and to have it last beautifully for 6 years, and it could have gone longer, trust me, proves to me the winery is all about quality in the bottle ... The nose was blueberry, chocolate and cassis - lots of chocolate and cassis, which was followed on the palate with a smooth suppleness that carried along with it cassis and spice with a hint of woodsiness ... paired very well with the pepperoni pizza we devoured.  Don't be afraid to lie some of these bargain wines down - you never know which ones will surprise you.

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Between the Lines 2009 Merlot (Ontario)

I'm on an Ontario kick this week as I pulled out this bottle of Between the Lines 2009 Merlot tonight - looking at my site I thought I had reviewed this wine already, but it seems I have not posted said review; could be because there was not much of this wine left at the winery (the only place you can get it), and as I was drinking I thought "why should there be any of this wine left, it's bloody delicious" (obviously my inner-Brit comes out when I drink).  Not only is this iwne delicious but a real value at only $13.00.  Smooth and fruity it's exactly what people think of when they think of Merlot.  Most Ontario Merlot needs some time but this one is ripe and ready now.  Here's a pre-holiday suggestion .. call up Between the Lines and see if they have any of this wine left, if they do get some, it's a real people pleasing, party starter kind of wine.

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Wakefield 2004 Merlot (Australia)

This is one juicy and delicious Merlot with sweet fruit that brings to mind blueberry and blackberry with an almost creamy sensation through the front to mid-palate, but then the finish has lots of black pepper and bite that brings this wine to a very satisfying conclusion.  6 years old but you still have a few years before all that fruit goes bye-bye.

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