Chateau Ste. Michelle Merlot Cold Creek Vineyard

Really enjoyed, almost ten years after bottling. Really well-balanced, everything works, nothing individually dominates. Miss these old school Ste. Michelle Cold Creek Vineyard bottle labels, so iconic.

Deep garnett bowl turning slightly rusty rim. Cooked blackberries, cherries, plums on the nose. Palate is graphite, dark fruits, chocolate shavings. Medium tannins and medium acidity. Maybe turning downward but still tasty.

This is an impressive wine given it’s age, but the rating is directly related to the quality against the $15.00 price at K&L. While it’s true that the fruit is diminished at this point, I find that the oak transforms rather than dominates the wine and in a positive way. The taste is smooth and the tannins are soft

I don't drink a ton of new world merlot but this is very serviceable and fun. Tons of black and blue fruit framed nicely by med+ acidity. The tannins are still there but beginning to resolve. No signs of aged aromas yet. Probably best to open and breathe in bottle for a several hours. Drank well on the second night but I think the sweet spot was somewhere in between nights one and two (day 2 mid-morning???). No rush to …

We were happy to find this on sale for $17 and for that price it was definitely solid- for the usual ~$30, I think it underperformed in some aspects. Like the "Indian Wells" Merlot, this was fairly dominated by intense American oak toast, with sweet vanilla, coconut, cedar, etc threatening to bury the fruit. The fruit definitely showed here better than the Indian Wells, especially after a bit of air time, showing baked plum and other assorted soft dark fruit. …

Garnet bowl to light ruby rim. Blackberries, plums, cooked cherries, cracked pepper on the nose. Palate is tart blackberries, cooked cherries, dark chocolate shavings. Medium plus tannins, medium acidity. Definitely peaking. Drink now if you have more.

Nose: Oak. Blueberry. Raisins. Liquorice. Meidum intensity. Palate: Blueberry. Liquorice. Vanilla. Cedar. Dry. Medium acidity. Medium tannins. Medium body. Medium flavour intensity. Finish: Medium minus finish.

Tar and tar...and tar Intense, not subtle, but solid quality. Outstanding QPR

Love the tar and smoke. More restrained than I recall, long smooth finish

Power and intensity. Lots of tar on nose, continuing to palate. Benefits from several hours air

Very Good

My wife and I tasted this at the winery on 9/13/18. It had a soft, elegant nose of smoked meat, blackberry, plum, anise and spice aromas. The palate was rich and dry with flavors of blackberry, plum, toast, licorice and spice.