Californina Merlot

S

SFJoe

Joe Dougherty
So a friend has friends visiting from Switzerland. They like oaky California Merlot, the Noodle bless their little Swiss hearts, and want to get some while they're here. Apparently they didn't get the memo.

Anyhow, I haven't tasted any in a decade, but can any of the retailers or others with broader experience than mine suggest a nice, slick, vulgarly oaky merlot to me, and maybe also tell me where to send them in NYC to buy it?
 
Joe,
It would be an effort to buy one that isn't as you describe.
I get to try quite a few in any given year, although admittedly, most from small producers. Most tend to make the variety in a fruit forward, fairly oaky style with a relatively plush texture.
There are exceptions (and there is even one that I would buy) but they are so few that I think you are safe buying just about any of them above $15.
Best, Jim
 
Given your description. I would recommend Foley Merlot. You can get it at Union Square Wines for $55.

If you want a Merlot that is drinkable, albeit with a little bret, they have a 97 Mckenzie-Mueller from Napa that I actually liked for around the same price.
 
originally posted by SFJoe: Californina MerlotThey like oaky California Merlot
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Joe, They're not "oaky" but the best Calif Merlots I've found are those made by Ken Burnap and subsequently Jeff Emery at Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard. Very pleasing...and age worthy!

. . . . . . Pete
 
originally posted by Florida Jim:
Joe,
It would be an effort to buy one that isn't as you describe.
I get to try quite a few in any given year, although admittedly, most from small producers. Most tend to make the variety in a fruit forward, fairly oaky style with a relatively plush texture.
There are exceptions (and there is even one that I would buy) but they are so few that I think you are safe buying just about any of them above $15.
Best, Jim
Click to expand...

I really thought Calluna's merlot was quite good when Kelly and I tasted with you and David in November. Not $15 and tough to come by though.
 
My last TN on a merlot is from 2001. (And that was Ch. Coufran.)

I'd point the Swissies towards Liberty School. There's an advert in my mailbox re Sant'Elena.
 
Bill,
Calluna was the one I was referring to when I mentioned I'd buy one. But obviously, that's not what Joe is looking for. The Foley suggestion was more down that alley.

BTW, the 2009 merlot fruit that came from Calluna's vineyard was the most perfect fruit I've ever seen in any winery, ever. I was on the sort line and we could have played cards for all we had to do. If that wine turns out near as good as the fruit looked, it will be the best new world merlot ever made.
And, FWIW, I recently tasted the 2008 Calluna, merlot (bottled March 2) and it will be a lovely restrained version of the grape when it is released.
David is about to become a player, I think - his Bordeaux varieties are so much better than anybody else is doing and his prices are terrific.
Best, Jim
 
originally posted by Florida Jim:
Bill,
Calluna was the one I was referring to when I mentioned I'd buy one. But obviously, that's not what Joe is looking for. The Foley suggestion was more down that alley.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was just hoping you felt the same as i did about that wine. It was the first merlot that really grabbed me in quite a long time.
 
i figured that simply looking at the wine spectator's top 100 wines for 2009 would provide the best answer. but, lo and behold, there were no cali merlots on that list! so, i tried to search the ws archives and find the highest rates merlots, but i am not a subscriber...

next, i did a simple google seach for 'best california merlot' and the top result was:

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www.thewinenews.com

in reading the article i found what i feel to be the answer, duckhorn. well known, should be easy enough to find, not TOO expensive and properly vile!
 
originally posted by SFJoe:
Californina MerlotSo a friend has friends visiting from Switzerland. They like oaky California Merlot, the Noodle bless their little Swiss hearts, and want to get some while they're here. Apparently they didn't get the memo.

Anyhow, I haven't tasted any in a decade, but can any of the retailers or others with broader experience than mine suggest a nice, slick, vulgarly oaky merlot to me, and maybe also tell me where to send them in NYC to buy it?
Click to expand...

Eric Stokes at Apex Beverage Co has Pahlmeyer on sale.

I have no recent experience, but it is promoted with words like "hedonistic" and "gobs".
 
Surely the approach to take here is to identify those retailers in NYC that focus on CA wines of the spoofy sort? Positing that a few such places still exist, I'd wager that they'd be happy to suggest one or more "good" examples of the genre. Asking here for recommendations for spoofy Merlot strikes me as absurd as enquiring on Coad's favorite unknown bored for the best Savignin producers in the Jura.

Wouldn't Sokolin or Sherry-Lehman be able to fill the bill? Or is price an issue?

Mark Lipton
 
Joe-

I don't see it in w-s, but look for Yorkville Cellars. Organic, family owned, small production (generally under 1000 cases for each wine), estate-only grapes, cooler climate, tastes like wine, under $20. They make a broad range of blends and varietal wines (including Merlot). Not bad at all for cheap CA.

There's also Carl Sutton, who has a "Table Wine" (actual brand- picture of table on label) Merlot- negociant juice, but fine. Should be under $15, if not $10. Carl's a good egg, crazy, but someone worth patronizing. Though again, I don't see much in NYC in w-s (some of his Syrah shows up). But his vermouth has been getting some national press so maybe it'll be easier to track down.

If you want, I've got some '96 Ridge I could send down. Still oaky, but integrated, and nice tertiaries. Corks are shot, though- Ah So or push in.
 
originally posted by MLipton:
...as absurd as enquiring on Coad's favorite unknown bored for the best Savignin producers in the Jura.
Click to expand...

I once had car trouble on my way to Vosne to taste with Rousseau and DRC after my business meetings in Geneva and I ended up in some godforsaken one-star in a region that I had no idea makes wines. The Henri Maire bottling they set me up with was supposed to be sherried but it was not as good as the 1962 white Chateauneuf I had at Bern's Steakhouse last month, and it was less expensive, so YMMV.
 
Why not slip 'em a Mickey? I see Chambers St. has two CA Merlots:

Benziger 2005 Sonoma Merlot
red | 15 in stock | $17.99


Robert Sinskey 2006 Los Carneros Merlot
This Merlot comes from certified organic vineyards that are farmed biodynamically. Concentrated with velvety elegance, this wine is structured yet accessible now. Plum and deep purple fruit notes with hints of herb and chocolate.
red | 18 in stock | Organic | $25.99

Presumably Merlotty enough to be slutty (see Sinskey description) but still relatively appealing for a more sophisticated palate. Maybe it will start them on the path to ascent.
 
If California isn't specifically necessary, I really don't think you can do "better" than:

Leonetti 2005 Merlot (Columbia Valley) Big, spicy wood with a chewy yet lush texture. The quality is obvious, as is the seductive nature of the wine, but despite the overtly apparently quality, the wine is thoroughly anonymous. It could be from anywhere, made from anything. (9/07)

It's everything an oaky merlot lover could want, it's got zillions of points, and it's probably both hard to find and incomprehensibly expensive. What more could one ask?
 
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