Isn't it Peconic?

Peconic Bay Spirits “Signature” Grape Brandy “sono rinata” (New York) – Apparently merlot, and be warned that it’s a clearer, more grappa-like style than it is a deep, wood-aged style. Or rather, I wish someone had warned me. Because I don’t care for this at all. It tastes like corn, and the alcoholic bite is harsh and ungainly. (8/10)

Casimirly

Casimir Gascon 2006 Vin de Pays des Côteaux de l’Ardèche Merlot (Rhône) – Wretched. I couldn’t finish a second sip. Stewed peanut butter, rancid butterscotch, weeds, and nastiness. (7/10)

Pozzan pans

Pozzan “Annabella” 2007 Merlot “Special Selection” (Napa Valley) – Over-toasted (assuming there are barrels involved; I don’t want to over-presume), charred…the Starbucks dark roast of merlot. (5/10)

Matthewpork

Markham 2005 Merlot (Napa Valley) – Solid dark fruit. Enough structure. Made from grapes. (5/10)

Neppilswuaalb

Blaauwklippen 2006 Merlot (Stellenbosch) – Blueberry softness. Boring. (11/08)

Cullen the herd

Cullen 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot (Margaret River) – Dense and a little roasted, with razor-like tannin and a certain alcoholic weight (though there’s only a bit of heat). Coconut, blackberry, and…not much else; the center is hollow, there’s volatile acidity hanging about (and sure to get stronger), and the wine finishes with both feet and a large portion of its torso in the grave, though it’s still swinging its fists as it descends. A bit brutal to drink, honestly, and it appears to have suffered the fate so often predicted for modern-style wines (though what it was actually like young, I have no idea). Some at the table opine that it’s actually having a mid-life crisis, and while I concede their greater experience with the wine, I don’t see it based on what’s on display. (3/05)

Ain't it?

James Irvine 1994 “Grand” Merlot (Eden Valley) – Huge, structured, full-bodied, and yet balanced in a very New World, thermonuclear fruit device fashion. Blackberry, blueberry, and plums abound, but there’s also an appealing graphite texture and pretty fair acidity. The wine is just massive, which makes the fairly abrupt fade on the finish a little disappointing, if not entirely surprising. In its style, this is quite impressive. (3/05)

Radilot

Radikon 2004 Venezia Giulia Merlot (barrel sample) (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Fig, bubblegum, and some volatile acidity. There’s agreement on this latter point, and so we try again from a different container. (10/07)

Radikon 2004 Venezia Giulia Merlot (barrel sample) (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Meatier and fuller than the first sample, with no significant volatile acidity. (10/07)

Radikon 2003 Venezia Giuli Merlot (barrel sample) (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Perfumed. Black cherry, blueberry, nut skins. Big tannin, yes (in that, it’s reflective of its year), but there’s a vintage-specific sort of balance to the wine. Long. Very good. (10/07)

Vodka Gimblett

Trinity Hill 2006 Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon Gimblett Gravels “The Gimblett” (Hawke’s Bay) – Chunky peanut butter, which melds with a gravelly texture. Incredibly rough. Uninteresting despite the terroir signature. (3/09)

Lay your Hans on me

Hans 2001 Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon “Spirit of Marlborough” (Marlborough) – Ripe fruit (mostly black), fresh tobacco, smoke, and black dirt. A bit short and unsubstantial, but OK. (3/09)

Bin there, done that

Villa Maria “Private Bin” 2007 Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon (Hawke’s Bay) – Herbed blueberry and blackberry. Simple, clean, and good according to the nose. But the palate? Baked. And the finish is horrid. (3/09)

Republican MTV VJs

Kennedy Point 2005 Merlot (Waikehe Island) – Blueberry soup with biting tannin. Ick. (3/09)

By the bay

Oyster Bay 2007 Merlot (Hawke’s Bay) – Watermelon Jolly Rancher. In a merlot? No thanks. (3/09)

Afterlude

Leeuwin “Prelude Vineyards” 2000 Cabernet/Merlot (Margaret River) – Red pepper, dark cherry, and cassis, with a dash of eucalyptus. Good weight and balance. Admittedly a little green (not altogether unpleasantly so, but it’s right on the edge), and already showing some early signs of development. Somewhere between OK and good. Probably not much of an ager, though. (3/05)

I am the great Corno di Rosazzo

i Clivi di Ferdinando Zanusso 1997 Colli Orientali del Friuli Galea Rosso Corno di Rosazzo (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – 100% merlot, planted at 2000 vines per hectare. Earthy/gritty tannin, granular cherry and strawberry, and then a finish with the rough, friction-y texture of old leather. A bit of whiskey barrel sweetness emerges on the finish, but the wine isn’t hot. It is, however, in need of drinking. (11/07)

Off the beam

Overhex “Balance” 2006 Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon (Western Cape) – Some green, some red, some black. Boring. (11/08)

Hannah

Montana 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot (Hawke’s Bay) – Mixed cherries and dark berries, with herbal notes throughout. Innocuous, but I’m not sure the intention is otherwise. It’s as good as any mass-produced wine at this level, I guess, and maybe just a wee bit better. (3/05)

Cuban Cigala

Martini di Cigala “San Giusto a Rentennano” 2001 Merlot di Toscana “La Ricolma” (Tuscany) – Sweet blueberry and milky; this feels more like a thickened soup than a wine, despite a sharp bite of tannin that seems out of place. That said, as wines in this style (which isn’t mine) go, it’s reasonably good. But I’d never choose to drink it. (9/08)

That old Galea of mine

i Clivi di Ferdinando Zanusso 2000 Colli Orientali del Friuli Galea Rosso (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Smoky meat, mushroom, and fine-grained tannin. But that’s all there is, and this wine is beyond difficult at the moment; I have confidence for the future based on past performance, but it’s not worth drinking right now. (9/08)

Eleven tenths

Château St-Jean de Lavaud 2004 Pomerol “1.1” (Bordeaux) – Big, muscular, and volume-enhanced; while it’s quite drinkable and seems to pant and plead for appeal, it’s just not that interesting. It lacks length, depth, and complexity. Maybe those will come with time, but I’m dubious. (8/08)