I like Merlot in the traditional Cab blend, but I'm not usually a fan of the varietal, especially in the California version, which I find tends to be soft and unstructured - easy-drinking, but not really in a good way. So I'll be very interested to try this wine - if it doesn't shatter my stereotypes, at least it may shake them.
--- Vasco da Gama's Review ---
Hmmm...another Merlot posting...with a couple of good Merlots recently, I guess I am having a new appreciation for the grape. Here is another that is quite good, and yet a very different style from the Marques de Casa Concha Merlot.
Unlike the dark full body meatiness of the Marques de Casa Concha, in comparison this Fetzer is a lighter summer expression of the Merlot variety. I would guess that it's more of what I used to expect a Merlot to be. Don't get me wrong, this is no Bonarda, Pinot Noir, or Beaujolais, but it is lighter than any Cab or Syrah.
This wine has a pleasing cherry, dark berry and plum flavour and has a surpisingly long finish. The tannins are below the surface, not obvious, but still there carrying the wine forward. All in all a very nice balance for a California wine at a mere $17.
Price: $17.49
Value: 4/5
Rating: 89
Grape: Merlot
UPC: 082896700394
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I am a big fan of Fetzer's Gewurtzraminer. I usually have one around. Most people really like it. I will have to try the merlot.
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