Synopsis, Our Opinion: A notable wine we enjoyed with a lamb dinner.
Producer/Winery: Ridge Vineyards; Cupertino, California.
Grape Variety: Merlot.
Geographic Appellation: Monte Bello Vineyard; Santa Cruz Mountains, California.
Vintage: 2014
Price: $75.00
Purchased From: Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Vineyard tasting room; Cupertino, California.
Paired With: Grilled lamb kebabs with Middle Eastern spices, salt potatos and roasted brussels sprouts.
Tasting:
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Opened one hour before drinking. Opaque, inky dark ruby color with glimmers of purple and the same color rim. Strong ripe plum with damp earth and old wood aromas, but with a distinct tobacco smell in the background. Silky smooth, juicy, full body and a 400-grit texture. Strong jammy plum flavors with significant vegetative highlights and secondary licorice tastes. Well balanced with smooth, almost soft mouth-feel, but with abundant fine grained tannins and an enervated spicy finish that goes on an on then finally ends with a dusty mineral aftertaste. Even with only 13% alcohol there was gobs of California sunshine in this EASY DRINKING Merlot. If we were blind tasting this wine I would have said it was Cabernet Franc, not Merlot. It’s not inexpensive Merlot, but clearly a notable wine we enjoyed with a lamb dinner.
Photo from Robert Holmes.
Alcohol Content: 13.6%
Closure: Natural cork.
UPC Code: 7 44442 13100 6
Imported by: NA