2006 Marques de Casa Concha Merlot

I suppose it is true that we rarely review Merlot - clicking on "Merlot" under "Reds by Grape" only brings up one varietal Merlot. I think the varietal craze is overdone - some wines are best as varietals, but others are usually better in a blend; Merlot is great blended with Cab, but I have to admit that I haven't found too many varietal Merlots that I've enjoyed. In any event, here is a review of an (almost) varietal Merlot from Vasco da Gama. I'll certainly be giving this one a try.

--- Vasco's Review ---

Here is what is apparently a rare Merlot review for this Blog; the 2006 Marques de Casa Concha Merlot. I bought a couple of bottles of this wine in Halifax this past winter, and this is one of them. (These have since shown up on the shelves of NBLC).

"I looked upon the cherry tree and there did I see,
A plum growing on a cherry branch, but how could that be?
The scent of plum and cherry, and a bit of anise too.
It lured me into it's embrace, as I smelled, swished, and chewed".

This wine is another great Chilean value at $23.99...so much character, it inspires me to write. This needs a few minutes to open up, but not that long really. My first smell had a typical Chilean layer of soil and very obvious plum. As the wine aerated a bit the cherry came through and a bit of anise, but the tannins seemed to takeover the show a little too quickly. As the glass disappeared, so did the overt tannins, being replace by more licorice and dark chocolate with smoother tannins. A nice finish and a warm feeling makes me wonder why I haven't been drinking more Merlot.

This is a wine that could probably cellar for a while and get even better, but it is also fine just the way it is.

Marques de Casa Concha Syrah, CabSauv, and Merlot have all been winners. Hard to go wrong with these wines.

Price: $23.99
Value: 4/5
Rating: 90
Grape: Merlot (with a touch of Carmenere)
UPC: 7804320253480