Chateau Ste. Michelle, Merlot, Columbia Valley

Chateau Ste. Michelle · Washington › Columbia Valley › United States of America

Red · Merlot

Critics

86 /100

Reviews

professional

Vintages

No vintages

No vintage-specific entries have been added for this wine.

Community Reviews

Reviews

85.8

Avg Score

Highest

Way way past prime time

2002 vintage

RUSSK

2002 vintage

past its prime

2002 vintage

Not bad for Merlot ;)

2002 vintage

Getting a little old. Fairly flat with not much fruit.

2002 vintage

Dark intense red. Intense nose of wild cherries, beets and blackberries. Very good mouthfeel, full body, pretty balanced acidity, fairly elegant, and fairly long finish. Tannic and fairly dry.

2002 vintage

Ruby color,medium fruit & holding its own for its age. Good wine.

2002 vintage

Not as good as other years. O/K for the weekdays, but not a wine for the weekend.

2002 vintage

good finish, strong nose, excellent with sirloin meatloaf.

2002 vintage

An OK merlot. Lots of leather and tar in the nose, mild fruit.

2002 vintage

Raisin color with medium-full body. Pine, leather, subtle hubba bubba gum, and dust aromas with cherry, soap, and dust flavors. Lingering finish.

2002 vintage

Not a great bottle at all. The fruit taste stewed, and the alchohol is beginning to overtake the fruit.

2002 vintage

Enjoyable, but certainly not memorable. A little tight on opening, decant for at least an hour to give this a chance. Dark fruit aromas of black cherry and black currant are balanced by oak, tobacco and notes of tar and dark chocolate. Taste is mostly a one-note wonder with black cherry, but some hints of vanilla, gravel, tar and an oak frame. Don't anticipate much cellar improvement.

2002 vintage

Nice enough body and fruit, but lacks complexity and depth. Disappointing, I've had other vintages that have been more enjoyable.

2002 vintage

Enjoyable, full bodied wine with dark round fruit that is nicely balanced. Not much complexity. Opens up with leather, pepper and tar in the nose, but rounds out in about an hour up to dark fruit of blueberry and plum with a sweet tobacco finish. Taste also begins with a little tar, but opens up to dark fruit leaning toward plum. Enough structure to last a few years, but don't know if it will improve.

2002 vintage

I rather enjoyed this Merlot. Not quiet as good as previous offerings from this Vineyard but overall a very good value.

2002 vintage

Consistant with 1st bottle, still lots of structure, so I expect it to improve over time

2002 vintage

Full bodied, strong tannins and holds it's own with any food.

2002 vintage

Fairly nice merlot, smooth with some moderate spices to make it interesting.

2002 vintage

Reviews on this wine are inconsistant, we lean to the positive side. The wine needed no decanting, heavy aromas of a singular fruit probally blackberry and toasty oak initially jumped out of the glass. This is a more aggressive merlot with a dominant oak flavor, heat, and good structure. This is not a sissy wine, and that's probally what I like about it.

2002 vintage

Humm…. This wine is lacking that smooth soft Merlot feature; rather it has a weak bouquet and structure. Not much of a wine, even at this low price. I had hoped for more from this winery. My rating: Appearance 2/2, Bouquet 3/6, Flavor 3/6, Overall 3.5/6 = 11.5/20 (score x 2.5 plus 50 = Parker’s 100 point scale) = 78.75 - Very Average low end wine.

2002 vintage

Well balanced and tasty merlot. Big cherry flavors, a touch of oak and a hint of earth.

2002 vintage