Wine Wednesday: Château Larose-Trintaudon

The other day while at the store I can across a bottle of interest. A bottle of 2004 Château Larose-Trintaudon Haut - Medoc. And it was half off, from $24-- SWEET!!!

Later in the week when preparing dinner for my wife, I opened it and had a glass.

Not so sweet.

In fact, I found little to like about this wine. In theory I like reds from the Bordeaux region. I find their flavors to be more subtle and nuanced than similar wines. However, this 65% Cabernet and 35% Merlot tasted much more like a Malbec than anything else. The flavor was down right earthy -- sorta like what a red wine would taste like if they threw in a few trowels of dirt into the barrel.

It felt flat and flabby against the tongue, with strong mineral after tones. It should have tasted better, and other vintages received high scores, but this 2004 wasn't worth the half-off price. Heck, it wasn't even worth $2.

What started off as a great bargain, was instead a dud. No wonder they cut the price by half!!

Wine Rating

Score: 1/5

Price: $$

Wine Info:
2004 Cabernet / Merlot
Château Larose-Trintaudon
Haut-Medoc Region
Bordeaux, France

Wine Wednesday: Robert Mondavi Merlot

The other day I was rummaging around the Food Lion Discontinued Wine Cart. This thing is awesome, EVERYTHING in there is 20% off!! Sometimes you find a Gem. Sometimes you find something that can peel the paint off of a car. But with my trained eye, and superior wine sensing skills, I found a 1/2 bottle of 2006 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Merlot. Mondavi has good stuff, and this is the Private Selection. It sounds hoity toity. So, it's gotta be great! Right?

Wrong.

This wine was so bad, neither my wife or I were able to finish our poured glasses. Usually I find Merlots to be a mild wine. Light fruit and spices. Sorta a half-way point between the subtle flavors of a Pino Noir, and and the more concentrated flavors of a Cabernet Sauvignon. This was none of those.

This wine overwhelmed our nose and mouths with fruit and acid. Lots and lots of fruit and acid. But not the good fruit. This was almost like a concentrated syrup flavor... with a watery consistency. No spice, no oaky tones. Just super concentrated fruit. YUK!

I've been to the Mondavi vineyards, I've enjoyed Mondavi before, and I hope to again. But I simply cannot recommend this wine to anybody.

Wine Rating:

Score: 0/5

Price: $ (1/2 bottle on sale for $4.79)

Wine Info:
2006 Robert Mondavi Merlot
Private Selection
Robert Mondavi Vineyards
Woodbridge, CA
http://www.myprivateselection.com/

Wine Wednesday: Paso Creek Merlot

It's been several years since I last had the opportunity to visit California's Central Coast. This region's wine growing abilities were highlighted in the movie "Sideways," which was shot on location in some great vineyards. (Yes, this is one of my favorite movies)

This means, that whenever I get the chance to try a new wine from that region, I will try it if it's in my price range. This Paso Creek Merlot, was about $14, so it was on the higher side of my standard price range, but I'm glad that I got it. It's a GREAT find!

I served this 2006 Merlot with a steak, covered with grilled peppers. And I've got to say, the wine held up against this flavorful meal very well. This is a dry Merlot with a full body. It has a lingering finish that has a hint of currant and spice, with a whiff of vanilla. It was a deep red / purple, and after a brief spill, I learned that it can leave a stain like nothing else!

According to the Paso Creek Vineyards website, this Merlot was aged for at least 18 months in French and Eastern European oak. And 35% of the barrels were new. The alcohol content on the bottle says 13.5%, but the website claims 13.8%. I believe the website -- this wine packed a very good wallop!

But I've gotta say, this was a great Merlot. That's $15 well spent.

Wine Rating

Score: 4/5

Price: $$

Wine Info:
2006 Merlot
Paso Creek Vineyards
Paso Robles, California
http://www.pasocreek.com/

Wine Wednesday: Red Rock Merlot

Last week I made a filet mignon dinner (recipe located here), and I wanted to pair it with a decent red wine. So, I picked out a California grown Red Rock Merlot, and decided to give it a try.

The price was attractive, about $8. And the label was attractive too. (Darn you marketing department!) So I was hooked, and it was bought.

I've gotta say, I lucked out. It's a very good Merlot.

This 2006 Merlot has a nice clean mouth feel. It didn't overwhelm the dinner (which included lighter flavors from grilled veggies and risotto), and it complimented the meat. It had distinct currant and cherry overtones but it wasn't too fruity. The wine didn't linger on the palate, and had very little aftertaste. It seemed like it could have used another year to mature a bit more, but all-in-all a very good wine.

Also, I'd like to give a little shout-out to the person with whom I met this morning. If you're looking for a super-sweet white wine for the summer I'd suggest the 2008 Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand). It's too sweet for me, but I'm sure you'd like it! :)

Rating: 3.5/5

Price: $

Wine Info:
Red Rock Winery
2006 Merlot
Healdsburg, CA
http://redrockwinery.com/

Wine Wednesday: St. Clement Merlot

Sitting down over a nice meal with my wife, I opened this 2005 bottle of Merlot to share. But after I had a sip, I wasn't so sure if I wanted to share it with my wife....

This wine is actually 93% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and it's noticeable. The merlot doesn't taste as mellow / relaxed as other merlots that I've had. The Cab definitely adds some flavor and complexity.

This wine starts with a hint of leather, that gives way to a vibrant currant / berry flavor with a very slight hint of tobacco. Then finishes with a dry tannin.

Also, when doing a little research, I learned that I'm not the only one who likes it. Wine Enthusiast gave it a 92, and Wine News gave it a 90. Both rather good scores from folks who know their wines.

Rating: 4/5 It's a solid wine that I'll definitely buy again.

Price: $$ (I paid less than $20, but I've seen it for almost $30 online)

Wine Info:

St. Clement Vineyards

2005 Merlot

2867 St. Helena Highway North

St. Helena, California

p) 800-331-8266

http://www.stclement.com/

Wine Wednesday: Charles Shaw Merlot

When I started this blog I planned never to review a Charles Shaw wine, which in California is known as Two Buck Chuck, and on the east coast it's closer to Three (or Four) Buck Chuck. I wanted this blog to be a little more refined in the wine category. But then again, I bought a bottle of Three Blind Moose because of the label -- so much for being refined!

I first got to know Two Buck Chuck during a summer visiting friends in California. I've only ever found this wine at Trader Joe's, and I must say, even though it is a low budget wine, it is definitely a notch (or two) above jug or box wines.

This 2006 Merlot has an aroma which reminds me of plums, while the taste has a mellow plum flavor with a hint of cherries. However, this is not a wine that has overly developed the fruit flavor, in fact the fruit taste is very low-key. In addition, this wine had a very nice dry after taste, which helped the spicy dish I was eating.

Charles Shaw gets a bad rap for being such a cheap wine. It's easy to get snobby about a wine's price. Sometimes there's a reason to be snobby. However, this time there is no reason. It's a quality wine at a phenomenal price.

Rating: 3/5

Price: It's called Two Buck Chuck for a reason

Wine Info:
Charles Shaw
2006 Merlot
Central Valley, CA
http://www.charlesshaw.us