More Merlot...Please

At the time, I mentioned that the once-fashionable red grape had taken a serious hit in popularity thanks to the rush to shiraz.

Nothing much has changed with consumers since that column, but I have tasted another 52 merlots that make me think maybe we should be paying more attention to this variety.

Most of the recent releases are more than a match for the flood of cheap and often acidic and alcoholic shiraz that is swamping the Australian section of local wine shops.

Refined merlot, like those that form the backbone of Bordeaux's famed Right Bank St-Emilion and Pomerols, or the delicious varietals of Sonoma County, Chile's Colchagua Valley and Washington's Columbia Valley will never go out of style.

British Columbia is another region with excellent merlot potential, and with the warming of each succeeding growing season we could become a serious merlot player, much like Washington has.

With a wealth of merlot to choose from, you might guess that not every bottle is, shall we say, typical. Often, poorly managed vineyards in marginal climates result in green, herbaceous, bell-pepper scented wines that aren't a lot of fun to drink. At the opposite end of the spectrum, too much heat yields a stewed prune, baked fruit wine that is often far too "hot" or alcoholic.

Somewhere in between would be just perfect, and that's what I was looking for from today's international picks. Here's what I found.

Diego Murillo Merlot 2001 from Patagonia, Argentina has a couple of things going for it, beginning with a price under $12. It has a pleasant spicy, black cherry jam nose streaked with orange rind and leafy tobacco aromas. On the palate, it has that typical chewy, smoky, gamey, black cherry, black olive flavours with a spicy, savoury finish. A solid, rustic red best served with Argentine-style barbecued meats.

The Valdivieso Merlot (2003) is the seventh vintage we have reviewed of this wine and it remains consistently well-made for the price. The nose is ripe cassis with a dash of leafy cherry fruit and pepper. It's super soft, as merlot should be, with juicy, spicy, black cherry fruit. The quality is hard to beat for the price.

B.C.'s Burrowing Owl Merlot 2002 is one of the best merlots we've tasted this year and it's still a baby. The nose mixes spicy, Christmas pudding and plum/iodine notes with black raspberry and earthy, tobacco leaf aromas. The flavours are a mix of ripe plum jam, cherry, chocolate, vanilla and peppery orange rind. It's a bit fat and alcoholic for B.C., but it will have wide appeal and it should improve over the next two to four years. Dare we say St. Emilion?

The screw-capped Two Tone Farm Merlot 2001 from Napa Valley has an attractive ripe cherry, coffee, plum, and smoky dill nose. It's soft, round and dry with a touch of tannin. Coffee, peppery, spicy, cardamom flavours with fine ripe black cherry, plum pudding finish. Euro-dry on the finish but very attractive flavours and balance.

Back to Chile and Valdivieso for the Valdivieso Merlot Single Vineyard Reserve 2001. As it was in 2000, the single-vineyard merlot comes with a spicy, smoky nose flecked with black olive, mint and vanilla. There is plenty of sweet ripe blackcurrant fruit, reminiscent of Sonoma, with cherry, plum and a smoky mocha vanilla, licorice aftertaste. Impressive.

Mike Benziger hates the cherry popsicle/green tea merlot, which explains the ripe, rich style of his Sonoma County Benziger Merlot 2001. Pepper, spice and coffee mix with black cherry and some light barnyard and cedar streaks on the nose. The styling is soft and round, the structure velvety the flavours cherry, pepper, leather, mocha and plum with a savoury, gamey, pudding finish. Drink now or over the next three years.

Weekend Wine Tasting
Merlot Madness
 
WINE: Diego Murillo Merlot 2001, Alto Valle del Rio Negro, Patagonia, Argentina
PRICE: $11.99
UPC: 60498420000
SCORE:86/100
COMMENTS: Chewy, smoky, rustic, hamburger red. Good value.

WINE: Valdivieso Merlot 2003, Region del Valle Central, Chile
PRICE; $13.99
UPC: 780218008888
SCORE: 87/100
COMMENTS: Super soft merlot with juicy fruity spicy black cherry fruit.

WINE: Burrowing Owl Merlot 2002, Oliver, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
PRICE: $24.90
UPC: 62699000446
SCORE: 90/100
COMMENTS: Rich round and concentrated red with supple tannins.

WINE: Two Tone Farm Merlot 2001, Napa Valley, California, United States
PRICE: $29.99
UPC: 08981977271
SCORE: 88/100
COMMENTS: Coffee, pepper, black cherry and plum pudding finish.

WINE: Valdivieso Merlot Single Vineyard Reserve 2001, Valle del Lontue, Chile
PRICE: $29.00
UPC: 780218008889
SCORE: 90/100
COMMENTS: Sonoma in Chile; plum and a smoky mocha vanilla, licorice aftertaste.

WINE: Benziger Merlot 2001, Sonoma County, California, United States
PRICE; $37.95
UPC: 78577400045
SCORE: 90/100
COMMENTS: Ripe cherry, peppery, leather, mocha, plum fruit with savoury pudding finish.