Red Bordeaux Blend

It is time for some Merlot on this #MerlotThursday.

Ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.

Beautiful nose of black fruits with wood, earth, herbs, chocolates and black pepper.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with black currants, plums, cooked cherries, spices, cedar, chocolates, licorice and dark coffee.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This 15 year old Merlot from Cotes de Bourg is drinking beautifully now. Elegant and rich. Complex, powerful and interesting.

Balanced and complex with a soft mouthfeel. Will continue to age nicely in the next 5 to 7 years.

I've had younger vintages and it is very consistent. Delicious by itself as a sipping wine.

A blend of mostly Merlot with Cabernet Franc. Aged in French oak barrels.

14% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$80.

It is time for some Merlot on this #MerlotThursday. Let's bring Merlot back!

Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.

Strong nose and medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with nice complexity.

Showing black fruits with cedar, chocolates, tobacco, herbs, spices, earth and peppercorn.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This is a delicious Merlot from Côtes de Bourg in the Right Bank of Bordeaux. Still very young, and needs 7 years in the bottle to mature properly, but already enjoyable even by itself.

This 2022 was a great vintage, and is already very approachable at its youth. Will continue to age nicely in the next 20 years.

Nicely balanced and rich. Fruit forward and elegant. Good by itself as a sipping wine or with food.

A blend of mostly Merlot with Cabernet Franc. Aged in French oak barrels.

15% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$80.

Rich, nice texture.

Decanted for 3 hours. Silky texture and mouthfeel. Not too much complexity, but an affordable example of Mitjavile style.

Spectacular #bordeaux #garagewine #garagiste

I haven't had a lot of Bordeaux that I loved. This was an exception. Deliciously fruity and drinkable.

Atherton Wine Imports 2026 tasting at République, Los Angeles. 2019 vintage. Some suppressed power with a smoothish finish. Medium-heavy body. A bit more of a transplanted Napa cabernet style. 3.18.26.

Last time I drank this was five years ago according to delectable. Pulled from the cellar for a ribeye. Luscious. Rich and dense but not over the top. Pretty decent acid holding it together. Oak was a hot mess 5 years ago, now it is fully integrated. Fruit is maturing but still has freshness. still plenty of tannin. In a good spot. probably 2026 for my final bottle..

2014 vintage. Ain't nothing pretty afoot but this delivers the dark side goods. Medium-heavy body. Sweet tobacco on the finish and Tootsie Roll + dark rum on the nose. Not the most articulate wine but it gets a sludgy point across. Should sally forth in this way for another half-decade. Very instructive as to what is possible in the Bordeaux hinterlands. Tastes more chi-chi/foo-foo obscenely pricey Napa Cab/red blend than Gallic-based. Voices were raised in France and something was broken in anger at some point somewhere after tasting this. 7.17.24.

Very charming, dark fruit, cherry, peppermint. Very round and smooth open. Nice Dark fruits on the finish. Very good.