Hourglass, Blueline Merlot, Napa Valley

Double decanted for wine group blind tasting weekly gathering about 2 hours before, new world Merlot theme. This was the first bottle to be passed around. A nice showing for the wine. Nose of floral and dark fruit. Dark cherry fruit in mouth. Many thought it was olde. Savery wine drinking well now. Should improve. Nice wine.

2018 vintage

Very smooth, but light. Not a ton of depth. Enjoyed this and it paired well with a variety of foods.

2018 vintage

Not a detailed note, but paired with beef tenderloin for Christmas. This is a balanced and structured merlot with potential for broad appeal and enough to keep the hobbyists happy. I found it to be excellent, if a tick off of the exceptional 2015.

2018 vintage

One of the best napa merlots. Deep ruby purple in color. Notes of plum, orange and spice, as well as blackberries. Fruit forward style like many napa merlots with a touch of mineral running through it from the blueline vineyard. Really enjoyed this wine over the vintages (2011, 13, 16, and 18 are my favorite).

2018 vintage

Always a pretty merlot. Silky and sensual aromas of ripe raspberries, blackberries, dark cherries, sweet Indian spices, worn leather, milk chocolate and citrus peel. Dark red, opaque, juicy acidity and powdery tannins on long satisfying finish!

2018 vintage

Going on a 2 hr decant, trying to sip slow and enjoy. But this beauty is so mesmerizing! Biagi’s wines present the best aromas. Loads of blue and black fruits, sprinkled when Indian spices, menthol and with a side of vanilla frosting. Silky on palate, medium bodied, great flavors adding some eucalyptus and dark cherries, berries and more barrel spices. Incredible merlot!

2018 vintage

Cami says...This deeply colored wine with legs to prove its complexity including green bell pepper with a hint of white pepper on the nose along with an earthy sense of natural stone. A light fruit fragrance will come to fruition on the 1st sip, with an elegant finish. Slight tannins says it could be put down for years.

2018 vintage

Friends Birthday Dinner Lakeside CC PNP, this wine is very aromatic. In the glass a juicy plump purple and a palate to match. Was a fun wine to contrast with the 09 Hourglass that was full of tertiary flavors. 93 now with upside when some of the baby fat has shed.

2018 vintage

Hints of freshly cut grass, spice

2018 vintage

After some big Cabs, a merlot was requested. What a phenomenal merlot to open and taste. Absolutely beautiful aromatics of cherry pie, raspberry jam, ripe blackberries, interwoven with toasty fragrance of spices, erupting from the glass. Palate adding some sweet floral notes, rich fruits, ripe tannins and good finish.

2018 vintage

2 hour decant. Beautiful nose of blue and black fruits. Sensational aroma of spices is mind blowing. Can’t stop smelling it ha!. Pretty rich, elegant and dense merlot, floral, juicy and succulent but it does have a fine structure. Made by winemaker of the year Tony Biagi! Tannins are ripe and soft with a savory finish. JD:95 RP:93 V:93 WS:92 JS:92 SS: 🤔 92-94. Give this baby more time!! #merlotthursday.

2018 vintage

Needs more time. Better on the second night.

2018 vintage

Deep dark color with modest tannins and notes of nutmeg,spice and mocha. Very nice and likely even better in a few years.

2018 vintage

(5/5) - as with many 2018's, stunning vibrant purple ruby color (13/15) - room to improve with some age, but this is one of the best hourglass Merlots I've had. Cassis, stewed red fruit, blackberry, nutmeg, orange peel, cinnamon. Age likely improves this a point or two. (17/20) - Again with many 2018's drinking better than most Cab's at this stage, but a merlot built for short-intermediate cellaring. Should really benefit here with a couple more years. Carries, black and …

2018 vintage

Beautiful napa merlot , drinking great , fruit forward , not much tannin, drink over next 5 years.

2018 vintage

This has the purity and freshness of a barrel sample, with luscious fruit and a round mouthfeel. The wine's youthful buoyancy, though, makes it hard to figure, at least for me.* I think this wine has the structure and intensity to go places, but it's still a bit raw and unformed at the moment - though it is also quite tasty. Ruby red in color and full in body (not heavy in the mouth, just round and broad), the wine …

2018 vintage

Popped open for xmas eve dinner. Very elegant with the fruit, tannins and acidity perfectly integrated. Thinking about it it may be the best Merlot I’ve tasted. Well liked all around.

2007 vintage

2007 HOURGLASS BLUELINE VINEYARD NAPA MERLOT- made by Bob Foley, this bottle was still in it adolescent stage with everything suggesting more time is needed; I`ve had a few of this 100% Merlot before and this was tighter and somewhat closed in comparison; it still gave strong inclinations of its goodness with rich coffee, toasty vanilla and chocolate laden black fruit; it`s full bodied, super complex and long.

2007 vintage

In OCNJ with some family. Been a few years since I visited this wine, good opportunity to check in on it..prior bottles have been great. PnP, drank over an hour. Medium garnet color. Consistent with prior notes: "Supple texture. cherry liqueur, dark fruits, blueberries...." Less viscous than bottles from a few years ago but still very rich and plush texture. Very nice Merlot from Hourglass..

2007 vintage

Surprised by the other CT reviews. I found this to be very good. May have just hit it's window. Caymus-esque in its body amd flavor profile, but with all of the good characteristics of Merlot.

2007 vintage

This merlot reminds me of Robert Foley Claret, though it is not quite as balanced or smooth. Bold wine that shows blackberry, vanilla and charred oak flavors, though the high alcohol on the finish is a minus.

2007 vintage

Medium brick-garnet, moderately translucent, no brown at the edges. Reserved aroma, dark fruits, but one-dimensional. Big and powerful on the palate, but coarse, heavy, one-dimensional, became bitter on the back palate, and had a long but hot, heavy, slightly bitter aftertaste. I'd like more roundness and flavor; right now too one-dimensional. I doubt it will get any better. Best to drink up. Ric

2007 vintage

Inviting nose pulls you into beautiful blueberry and boysenberry fruit, with hints of menthol and oak in the background; alcohol is pronounced on the finish, my only major complaint. This is not as good, but reminds me a bit of Robert Foley wines with the silky smooth and lush fruit profile, but unfortunately doesn't stick the finish.

2007 vintage

Minneapolis Wine Club: Double Blind BYOB Event (Shari's House, Mpls, MN) : Medium dark red color. Drank 1 glass blind over 1.5hrs. Decanted for 90 minutes. The nose is impressive with sweet mulberry and plum fruit, cedar, subtle earth, coffee, chocolate, vanilla. The palate again can never quite live up to the nose, medium body, oak, berry, alcohol at times, berry liqueur, medium finish. Too much overt oak especially on the back end of the palate. There may be some …

2007 vintage

In Wailea..... Beautiful acidity and very fine tannins. Long and straight forward, the focus really glides in cadence with the finish. Green olive, blueberry, lava and guava. Well-structured Merlot with Classic qualities and sagacity. Drink 2014 - 2024.

2007 vintage

With Chinese take-out...Lauren and Colin at our house. This wine has really hit its stride, better than the last bottle and a real crowd pleaser. Really unique, supple texture. cherry liqueur, dark fruits, blueberries. Has some of the "liqueur" edge that you get from wines like Vega Sicilia or a Quinitarelli Amarone - different flavors from both of those wines, similar bite on finish. Long (20+ seconds) finish. getting better with each bottle. Right in its zone - should continue …

2007 vintage

first bottle, popped and poured. A little funk on the nose out of the bottle - Valerie was more sensitive to it than me. it took about 45 minutes to open and soften, drank over 3 hours Rounded and supple texture. The way Merlot should be made in California (before it got killed by Sideways). Cherry liqueur, coffee, dark fruits, strong floral, some mint on the back palate. Medium finish. will wait on next bottles - this has a lot …

2007 vintage

Wine of night

2007 vintage

opulent and bold. A big wine with tons of chocolate, cofee, red and blueberries fruit. Smoothwith round lush tannins. Long finish. Modern wine to drink on it's own or with a steak.

2007 vintage

Disappointing.Tannic for first half hour gave way to oaky rough drinking table wine.

2007 vintage

Notes similar to previous bottle, only this did not show as well. I don't think it's declining, but there was noticeable heat I picked up on this time. Still a nice wine, but for my tastes not worth the price.

2007 vintage

chocolate, cofee, red and blue fruit. Long finish. Drink now.

2007 vintage

This showed very poorly. Overly sweet, overly hot. Perhaps with more time in the cellar and/or more time to decant this would improve, but this was very disappointing.

2007 vintage

Spicy, oaky, new-world wine with typical fruit-forward, low acid flavor profile. Dark garnet color; interesting mid-palate of dark fruit and clove/ all-spice; medium complexity; full body; somewhat unbalanced with low acid and high alcohol content (15.5) resulting in an overall impression of slight residual sweetness. Alcohol, while present, was not overly hot. While this wine goes with some foods I would not consider it "food friendly" and would be better enjoyed on its own.

2007 vintage

Double Blind Tasting at Kevin's (Kevin's House) : An interesting wine to say the least. Very light in color and took a long time to open up. This might be a stellar wine in five years as it evolved throughout the night. Coffee, floral, dust, vanilla and spice. Not a lot of fruit I could detect but an enjoyable wine.

2007 vintage

Double Blind Tasting at Kevin's (Kevin's House) : Nose: Spicy with very expressive red fruits and cedar. Palate: Spicy red fruits with an undercurrent of black pepper. The nose was clealy the most intriguing thing about this wine as it unfolded throughout the night. If there were a Nose of the Night category this would take a close second to the Achaval-Ferrer.

2007 vintage

Double Blind Mini Offline (Rocknroller's (Kevin's)) : Medium red color. Nose on this is very nice: sweet fruits, cherry, plum, floral, damp earth, espresso. and chocolate. The palate never quite lives up to the nose. Medium body, moderate tannins, oak, spice, chocolate, cherry and plum. medium finish.

2007 vintage

The rich, expressive cherry chocolate spice box is delightful. Easy drinking at Las Vacas Gordas in Miami Beach.

2007 vintage

Very enjoyable but showing more heat than last time. Makes me think that this bottle was in a bit of an awkward disjointed phase. I think this can show much better. One bottle left - will hold for a couple of years.

2007 vintage

Tasted 8/09/10, at the Sierra Mar Restaurant at the Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur CA. Decanted, in the glass a bit light in color, actually looking a bit mature(?) for a 2007. Brick red already showing at edges. Light aromatics, with the alcohol showing through. On the palette, I notice toasty oak first, alcohol second, overlaying the one dimensional but yummie fruit. I don't get the distinct Merlot cherry fruit flavor, rather this has a more mocha cab thing going …

2007 vintage

The wine looks Ruby colored. The legs are Slow. It smells like Mineral, and Coffee. It tastes like Coffee, Cherry, and Chocolate. The body is Medium. The wine is textured Polished. The wine finishes Medium.

2007 vintage

Are you sure?

Hourglass, Blueline Merlot, Napa Valley

Vintages

No vintages

Community Reviews