Critics Average score from professional wine critics and publications.
87
/100
Reviews
14
professional
Vintages
1
2003
Other
87/100
Merlot
NV
Community Reviews
1616
Reviews
86.9
Avg Score
90
Highest
Taster #1530
· Jan 1, 2012
90/100
Nose is dark fruit and just a hint of leather. Color is deep red, no legs, the wine just coats the glass evenly. On the palate, the dark fruit is nicely balanced by some heat and soft tannins. Wonderful mouthfeel and medium-long finish. A wonderful wine that still has plenty of life, if you have any more.
2003 vintage
Taster #1624
· Oct 10, 2011
88/100
Text book California merlot. Nice flavors of plum and currant and berry, just not inspired.
2003 vintage
Taster #4037
· Jan 10, 2010
90/100
Thought I missed the drinking window on this one, but still doing well. Used Vinturi rather than decant to catch the sediment. Nice deep color. Leather and berries on the nose, although the leather dissapated over time. Good fruit (dark berries) on the palate. Decent acidity to go with beef goulash, finished with sour cream. Tannins are well integrated, but still appear. And just a wonderful finish. This is what I like Merlot to be.
2003 vintage
Taster #5370
· Dec 15, 2008
90/100
nose: a little smoke, menthol, red berries (bright cherry, raspberry, cranberry, redcurrant), little dark chocolate maybe, some plum. palate is very elegant, balanced, and tasty, with some leather and berries, but not too much. i enjoyed greatly.
2003 vintage
Taster #5101
· Dec 14, 2008
90/100
Nose is full of leather rubbed in crushed vanilla wafers soaked in crushed plums & berries. On the palate it obviously brings the old world style with mild fruit and a leathery earthy note to it. Very smooth and integrated nicely with nice plum/berry fruit, leather, & vanilla. Tannins are mild, but certainly visible. This wine can easily last many more years.
2003 vintage
Taster #1554
· Nov 11, 2008
84/100
This bottle was markedly different than my second. It was unbalanced with a tremendous amount of heat. Little fruit and a bitter/chemical taste.
2003 vintage
Taster #0984
· Nov 9, 2008
89/100
A really delicious Merlot - and I was shocked. Hearty, not earthy, and goes well with Snickers Bars which I was eating while handing out to trick or treaters at the same time. We visited the cellar in Glen Ellen and I was only moderately impressed, this just changed my mind.
2003 vintage
Taster #3514
· Nov 9, 2008
90/100
Nice fruit with decent acid to keep it from getting cloy. Love this Merlot (but then I love most Sonoma Valley wines, it seems). Drank well over the course of three nights.
2003 vintage
Taster #6554
· Jul 10, 2008
Nose was very fragrant with cherry as the dominant component. Unfortunately, the flavor seemed dominated more by alcohol than anything else; I think that the recent warm weather may have taken its toll on this bottle before I had opportunity to drink it.
2003 vintage
Taster #1554
· Apr 24, 2008
83/100
Awkward but aromatic nose. Sligthly sweet with some cahlkiness. I couldn't quite place the flavors but overall wasn't impressed at all.
2003 vintage
Taster #2855
· Mar 14, 2008
75/100
NOSE: Hints of pyrazine. The grapes may not have been completely ripe. PALATE: Good bold flavors. Too sweet. Decent tannins. For this price point, from California, maybe not so bad. PASS
2003 vintage
Taster #1334
· Jan 23, 2008
Decanted 15 min. This was an awful wine. Heavy brett, shallow fruit, bitter and lots of harsh heat. Left in the decanter overnight and all the next day, and it was still terrible.
2003 vintage
Taster #6230
· Jan 5, 2008
89/100
Wish I took the time to do a formal tasting on this, but this probably the best pure Merlot I've had. Color is somewhere between cranberry and Barney-purple. Nose was very full and displayed blackberry, leather, and a bit of vanilla. Flavors were equally full and teetered between new world berry jam and old world earthiness. Finish was pleasant, but not anything to write home about. Gut rating would put this is the +/- 90 point range, marked 89 to …
2003 vintage
Taster #2800
· Jan 3, 2008
85/100
color: dark ruby nose: cherry, mocha with hints of mint and a touch of chalkiness. Quite aromatic. A sturdy merlot which with plenty of stucture and lots of acidity. Better with food, as it finished a bit bruskly and/or sharp on its own. Curious to see what a bit more time in the bottle will do, as my initial impression was that it would help smooth and balance this wine.
2003 vintage
Taster #0302
· Dec 5, 2007
89/100
I'm rating this an Excellent wine. The flavor is outstanding. Earthy, leathery, and some tobacco in there. Great balance. Wonderful wine.
2003 vintage
Taster #3333
· Nov 27, 2007
84/100
I was unimpressed with this bottle when first opened (after about a half hour of decanting). The tannins where strong and there was an earthy flavor I couldn't get past. After a couple hours the tannins mellowed some and the earthy flavor disappeared and the remainder of the bottle was quite enjoyable. I'd rate it as good overall as long as it has sufficient time to breathe. It wasn't amazing, but not a bad bottle for the price.
2003 vintage