Home Ranch Merlot

This Garagiste “Mystery” purchase is good, but errs on the side of ripeness, extraction, and oak. I generally prefer more restraint in these three categories. Nose has dark roast coffee, baking chocolate, with fruit struggling to get out from underneath. In the mouth, the texture is very nice, not flabby, but the fruit tends toward chocolatey richness. So there isn’t a lot of varietal character. Again, though, it’s quite pleasant (wife liked it a lot!).

I want to re-taste. Like the initial tasting, but at the end of long day! Black cherry.

Night and day from the last bottle we opened of this. Fantastic merlot.

A big merlot with lots of plump ripe fruit

This was almost undrinkable the first day. All I got was brett; but the next day it was beautiful.

My favorite merlot, from a week of many, many wines.

Earthy, brick red, cigar box, mushroom and all things tannen.

Slightly herbaceous edge to it, underneath all the ripe red fruit

Ripe

This 2009 "Home Ranch" Merlot from Geryserville's Sbragia Family Vineyards shows red stone fruit and a hint of bay leaf. Why, it's plum food-friendly.