Hillside Blend Howell Mountain Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon

Too young

It's definitely time for a great Merlot on this #MerlotThursday.

Dark ruby in color with a short reddish rim.

Great nose of black currants, plums, cooked cherries, cedar, vanilla, spices, espresso, cola, light herbs, peppercorn, pencil lead and earth.

Full bodied with medium acidity and elegant.

Dry and fruity on the palate with blackberries, black currants, plums, cooked cherries, cedar, vanilla, licorice, spices, chocolates, tobacco, mocha, earth, peppercorn and leather.

Nice length on the finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This is a delicious Merlot based blend from Napa Valley. Rich, yet elegant. Fruit forward with nice complexity.

This 8 year old Magnum is drinking very nicely now. The fact that it is from a great vintage doesn't hurt it either.

Delicious right out of the bottle, and better after 2 hours of airtime.

Excellent quality. Will continue to age nicely in the next 10 years.

Thank you Barry for sharing this with me.

Good by itself or with food. I paired it with delicious lamb chops.

Grapes are grown at 2,100 feet of elevation. A blend of 71% Merlot and 29% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged in French oak barrels (31% new) for 25 months. A small production of 579 cases. Made by Philippe Melka.

15.1% alcohol by volume.

94 points.

$350 (Magnum)

My first and only Moone-Tsai was a ‘12 Cab. This was my second and was non comparable to the ‘12.

A blend of about 70% Cab Sauv and 30% Merlot, aged for 26 months in French oak (2/3 new). I'll start off by saying this wine is good now but will be great in another 5-10 years if you have the patience. Ruby with rich aromas of dark fruit, smoke & spice. Flavors of jammy blackberry, current and cherry with notes of licorice, cacao and spice. Fine dusty tannins with a tight rustic edge, well integrated, nice balance, long ending with earthy tones. Small production! Tasting Sample!

A blend of 70% Cabernet and 30% Merlot, aged for 26 months in French oak (2/3 new). I'll start off by saying this wine is good now but will be great in another 5-10 years if you have the patience. Ruby with rich aromas of dark fruit, smoke & spice. Flavors of jammy blackberry, current and cherry with notes of licorice, cacao and spice. Fine dusty tannins with a rustic edge, well integrated, nice balance, long ending with earthy tones. Small production! Tasting Sample!

It is time for some Merlot on this #MerlotThursday. Here is a beautiful one from Howell Mountain.

Dark ruby in color with a short brick rim.

Great nose of blueberries, black currants, chocolates, tobacco, cedar, leather, vanilla, licorice, spices, vinaigrette, earth and black pepper.

Full bodied in body with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with blackberries, black currants, blueberries, black plums, vanilla, cedar, licorice, light cola, black tea and black pepper.

Long finish with soft tannins and raspberries.

This is a wonderful Merlot based Bordeaux Blend from Napa Valley.
Nicely balanced with a great mouthfeel and great complexity.

This 8 year old from the great 2012 vintage is drinking very nicely now. Tasty, smooth and easy drinking.

Good right out of the bottle and better as it opens up (30 minutes). Just delicious. I loved smelling on it for a long while.

Thank you Wendy for sharing this with me.

Wine Spectator 92 points.

I had it a couple of years ago, and it wasn't quite there. Blossoming now. Delicious and yummy.

I paired it with a charcuterie board of meats, cheeses and fresh berries.

A blend of 64% Merlot and 36% Cabernet Sauvignon. Grapes are grown at an elevation of 2,100 feet. Aged in (50% new) French oak barrels for 24 months. Less than 600 cases produced.

15.1% alcohol by volume.

94 points.

$125.

Finally getting around to posting wines from my annual Napa trip from two weeks ago. Always goes by quick! Lots of fun new stops this year.

It was my first time trying Moone-Tsai wines aside from their widely distributed Napa Valley Cab, so some of these were totally brand new to me. Melka is the winemaker.

Out of the three cabs we tried, this was my favorite for long term. Howell Mountain is my favorite AVA so the fruit is undeniable fantastic, but Melka has made this very tight and compact and most certainly not a fruit forward cab. The fruit is underripe...blackberries, raspberries, black currant, sage, charcoal and graphite aromatics. It is dusty, herbal and powerful on the palate. Dark cocoa, chalky, baked mixed berry pie, dash of baking spices, and massive structure. Give this some time away and you’ll be rewarded.

Really pretty, red fruit and hint cedar. Touch of jam

On the nose; huckleberry, olallieberries, plums, blueberries, baking spices and fresh violets in dark floral bouquet. The body and tannins are M+ Huckleberry, ollieberries, plums, blueberries, black raspberries, raspberries, baking spices, spice, cedar, leather, pipe tobacco, crushed dry rocks, powdery volcanic minerals, good round acidity and nicely polished finish. Nice wine with potential for more as it bottle ages.

Really serious and amazing wine - it is so ready to be consumed-