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I can’t think of a more passionate dude in the Washington wine industry than winemaker, Gilles Nicault. His zeal for wine, passion for life and people can only be truly appreciated if you get the chance to meet him in person. One could say that being french-born slanted him to be this way but his level of passion is hard to fake or duplicate. Gilles puts his whole heart into everything he touches and because of that, everyone should have the chance to try his wines – even if at the end of the day your palate doesn’t agree with them.

Long Shadows hires talent from around the world to work with Gilles on various projects – this is part of the success model for the winery as they get to to employ the expertise from some of the world’s most celebrated winemakers.

2006 Pirouette – W.E.P. Rating: 80%

Technical Details:

Blend: 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 15% Petit Verdot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 5% Syrah

Alcohol: 14.6%

pH: 3.93

TA: 0.53 grams / 100ml

Release Date: May 2009

Production: 1,733 cases

Price: $55

Nose: Waves of dark chocolate covered blueberries and blackberries. white pepper, wild game, road tar and spice.

Taste: Nice doses of black and white pepper with fresh deer meat, a touch of baby poo, radishes, blackberry, plusm, anise, and chocolate. This is an interesting wine in that it offers some nice layers of complexity and had good acids, but for a $55 wine the finish seems a bit awkward for me. It finishes with some black licorice, pencil lead and ink but all that goodness gets a bit choked out by being a touch too hot – I’d like to try this wine again in 3-5 years.

2006 Feather – W.E.P. Rating: 90%

Technical Details:

100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Alcohol: 14.2%

pH: 3.72

TA: 0.57 grams / 100ml

Release Date: April 2009

Production: 2,238 cases

Price: $55

Nose: Cherries, dirt, raspberries, freshly-tanned leather, saddle soap and big-league chew.

Taste: Nice dose of what I’m going to call “dirty cherries” – it’s like you took a handful of cherries, dropped them in the dirt and then ate them – Good stuff. Across the mid-palate, I get some cool flavors of lavender, rose petal, charcoal, black raspberries and leather. Good finish that lingers nicely with flavors of black pepper and spice – would be a great pick for a grilled rib-eye steak.

2006 Saggi – W.E.P. Rating: 95%

Blend:42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Sangiovese, 19% Syrah

Alcohol: 14.6%

pH: 3.81

TA: 0.55 grams / 100ml

Release Date: October 2008

Production: 1,725 cases

$45

Nose: Crayola crayons, christmas fruit cake, cherry, blueberry,  glue,  star anise and some fresh road-kill.

Taste: Blackberry-laced leather straps that have been covered in molasses, cherries, pie crust, chocolate, nutmeg and wild game. There is a lot going on in the taste of this wine – it’s very complex, offering a great variety in layers of flavors. Good acidity and tannin structure – for me – make this wine an easy pick for lasagna or meat-filled ravioli or any sort of italian-styled meat and red-sauce dishes. Good velvet-action on the palate with a finish that hangs out like that annoying neighborhood kid who doesn’t “get it” on when it’s time to leave.

On the web: www.longshadows.com

Liberty Lake Cellars, near Spokane Washington, started off in 2004 by producing small amounts of wine which was sourced from Red Mountain AVA. It’s owners, Doug and Shelly both have “day jobs” while working the winery in their off-time. It’s a winery built on hard work and a lot of heart.

They were participants in the #WaMerlot Tweet-up a couple of months ago and I was really drawn in to their passion via a few emails I’ve had with them.

• Price: $22
• Alcohol: 13.4%

Nose: Blackberries, dark cocoa, forest floor, cherry-flavored Robitussin, vanilla and oak.

Taste: There is some black fruit going on here, however, it seems to be overwhelmed with oak. Across the mid-palate I get notes of chocolate, tobacco and black pepper but again, the oak comes in and just kills it for me. The finish leaves a sort of black pepper-laced fruit roll-up on the tongue – but again, for me, it’s way too much oak coming through. If you’re a fan of the “California-styled” wines that do have that more pronounced oak/vanilla flavor, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy this merlot.

W.E.P. Rating: 70%

On the web: www.libertylakewinecellars.com

I love wine duels as I believe they can help shake-up the many stereotypes we have as wine lovers. I’ve been witness to quite a few that have shaken preconcived ideas and also helped to enlighten peoples minds and palates to the wine-world around them. And honesly, that’s a great thing, right?

California has really taken on a following all its own for the good job it does with so many of the red bordeaux grapes – Cab and Merlot top that list. The simple truth is that California has been producing award-winning Merlot longer than any other state in the union and for that they should be commended and saught out.

However, as many of us know, the state of Washington has really come a long ways in a short amount of time and really shaken things up a lot – not only here in the “new world” but in the old as well. Its eastern climate is ideal for growing grapes that ripen well and produce amazing fruit – talk to any vineyard owner there and they’ll talk about that area for hours.

2006 Pedestal Merlot by Long Shadows Winery – W.E.P. Rating: 95%

Long Shadows vintners, founded by long-time Washington wine pioneer, Allen Shoup, is one of those Walla Walla-based wineres to watch and has garnered praise on most of its wines from critics around the world. In fact, it’s 2005 Pedestal Merlot recently won international acclaim at a wine tasting in Canada. There’s little doubting that this winery and the people behind it are about as passionate as anyone can get when it comes to the potential for Washington wine.

• AVA: Columbia Valley
• Alcohol: 14.7%
• pH: 3.83
• TA: 0.51 grams / 100ml
• Blend: 86% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot, 4% Malbec
• Release date: February 2009
• Production: 1,877 cases
• Winemaking Overseer: Michel Rolland
• Price: $55

Nose: Blackberry jam for days on end, combined with stellar notes of leather, peppercorn, shoe-polish, stinky stocks, tobacco and dark chocolate.

Taste: Incredible layers of flavors going on here – blackberry pie (fresh out of the oven) combined with spices and black pepper. I also get in the mid-palate transition a good amount of leather, tobacco and chocolate for days. Superb mid-palate action where the dark chocolate notes really start to take center stage. Good mouthfeel that makes you beg for more and a finish that has some of the best hang-time I’ve had from any wine at any price.

2006 Double Eagle Merlot by GOS Winery: W.E.P. Rating: 90%

Double Eagle started off as a pet-project from some friends who simply wanted to make some good wine for themselves to share. From the leather label to the waxed top, it’s clear that the presentation of this wine was made to impress. Fast-foward a few years, and it caught-on so much that Michael and crew made it available to the public. While you probably won’t find it in wide-spread availabillity you can always order it directly from the winery.

• Varietal: 92% “Grieve Vineyard” Merlot,  8% Cabernet Sauvignon
• AVA: Napa Valley
• Vineyard: Grieve Family Vineyard (Lovall Valley)
• Elevation: 650 feet
• Density: 1,040 vines per acre
• Vine Age: 9 years
• Harvest Date: 11/2/06
• Brix at Harvest: 25.7
• Winemaker: Michael Sebastiani
• Cold Soak: 1 ½ days
• Fermentation: 14 days with additional maceration of 5 days
• Oak: 100 French, 20% new, 40% one-year and 40% two-year
• Alcohol: 15.4%
• pH: 3.86
• Bottled: 8/27/08
• Cases Bottled: 200
• Price: $40

Nose: Intense dark chocoloate, cinnamon, black plums, black licorice, vanilla, pomagranate and charcoal.

Taste: Cascading black fruit that gives way to a piece of freshly tanned leather soaked in currant, cinnamon and chocolate undertones which are firmly grasped by a nice tannin structure with excellent acidity and mouth feel. The finish lingers very well and keeps rewarding your tastebuds long after its slid gently down the hatch.

Duckhorn Winery, based in St. Helena California, produces bordeaux-style wines and has considered one of that regions top-quality producers for almost two decades. Its unyielding commitment to quality has long been cemented by its award-winning merlot which it now produces over 30,000 cases of. 

This merlot was one of my “gateway” wines back in my early days of getting into red wines – I remember it have a finish to die for – lush, velvety and just full of excellent fruit which still sticks in the back of my mind even to this day.

This “Napa Valley” Merlot features grapes harvested from 36 different vineyards and really underscores the blending talents of the winemaking staff at Duckhorn. Getting the right comination of blend percentages can be a tricky process, much less working from 36 varrying vineyards and microclimates.

Technical Data:

• Varietal Content: 96% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot
• Appellation: Napa Valley
• Harvest Dates: September 9 — October 31, 2006
• Average Sugar at Harvest: 25.6 degrees Brix
• 36 Vineyards Harvested
• Cooperage: 100% French Oak Château-style Barrels (60 Gallons)
• Barrel Aging: 16 Months
• Age of Barrels: 30% new, 70% second vintage
• Alcohol: 14.5%
• 0.67 g/100 ml titratable acidity
• 8-10 days fermentation at 80?F
• pH: 3.33
• Bottled: April 2008
• Price: $52

Nose: Blackberries, currant, dark cherries, saddle soap with hints of rose petal and leather. 

Taste: Firm tannin structure with the classic black fruit that Merlot is known for – fruit hits heavy on the palate like pepper-laced blackberry jam and then brings in nice subtleties of cedar and spice. The finish isn’t nearly as long as it should be and at its pricepoint of $52 – I think there are plenty of better wines out there. The tannins should mellow out a lot over the next 3-6 years and I’d be interested in trying this wine again at that time.

I ended-up putting the cork back on the the bottle and tracked its progress over the course of a few days – it defintely started to relax a lot which showed-off the blackfruits even more and helped balance the finish a bit more; however, it’s still not remotely being worth the price being asked for it so on that alone, I’d have to give this wine a huge pass.

W.E.P. Rating: 50%

Winery website: www.duckhornvineyards.com

One of the great things about the wine business at large is that there are many small wineries out there who are very passionate about the products they produce and for those who know about them, can bring a rewarding experience.  My friend, Bob Andrake, of Andrake Cellars in Olympia WA is one of those who truly love wine and everything about it. 

Over the past few years, I’ve got to know him and his wife – wonderful folks who love life, family and food – my kind of peeps. One thing I know about Bob is that he has no qualms about dissing his own wines when he feels they don’t quite cut the mustard – there has been more than one occasion where he and I have sat around, drinking one of his wines – and he’ll say something along the lines of “jeesh, that sure didn’t turn out like I had hoped” (i’m paraphrasing). His honesty of this own wines and passion for making the best he knows how helps to keep his head in the game and lets him stay intellectually honest about his own products.

Technical Data:

• Vineyards: Meek Vineyards
• Alcohol: 14.4%
• Ph: 3.82
• Oak: 100% French Oak – 35% new
• Cases Produced: 72
• 96% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 2% Cab Franc
• Cost: $30

Nose: Floods of dark chocolate and cherries with hints of eucalyptus, white pepper, tobacco and tobacco.

Taste: Mountains of insanely dark fruit – this is one of the darkest, blackest merlots I’ve had in a LONG time. Massive attack of blackberries and white pepper on the front-end – it’s like sticking your tongue straight into a jar of home-made blackberry jam and then sniffing pepper. A good, long finish that comes across a bit on the hot side as it slides down the ol’ hatch. This wine is cleary not for everyone – old world wine fans will need to check out some other wine. 

W.E.P. Rating: 85%

Andrake Cellars: #: 360-943-3746

Ehlers Estate Winery, in St. Helena California, has been producing since the year 2000 and is the only non-profit winery I’m aware of – anywhere. 100% of its proceeds go into cardiovascular research. The reason for this is because its founder, Jean Leduqa, was a longtime sufferer of heart disease – hence why his wife, Sylviane, started a foundation in her husband’s name to aid in that type of R&D. So not only are you helping your own heart with a hearty glass of red wine, you can also know your business with Ehlers goes to help those around the world as well.

In this tasting, I’m looking at the 2006 releases of its Cab and Merlot – both of which are priced at $45. I know that’s on the higher-end of pricing for most folks in today’s economy, but is actually pretty “normal” for Napa-pricing – so I hope these prove to rock me for those prices.

2006 Merlot St. Helena: W.E.P. Rating: 90%

• Vintage: 2006
• Varietal: Merlot
• Final Blend: 79% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot Fruit
• Source: 100% estate grown Farming: California Certified Organic Farmer 
• Harvest Date: Sept. 26 – Oct. 12, 2006
• Acid: 5.7g/L TA
• PH: 3.74 pH
• Aging: 18 months in oak, 85% French oak, 40% new
• Bottling Date: June 16 – 17, 2008
• Brix at harvest: 25
• Price: $45

Nose: dark chocolate, tobacco, green onion, blackberry, black cherry, mildewy V8 juice mixed with cocoa-cola blows off after awhile to a nice cedar-laden forest floor, vanilla and toasted marshmellows.

Taste: Think of this wine as a vanilla-laced piece of dark chocolate that’s smothered in blackberry and blueberry jam then topped with some cedar chips and funk – sittin’ there, looking you straight in the eyeballs, just screaming at you to eat it. The finish on this wine lasts for weeks and continues to provide a good jolt of reach-around.

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena: W.E.P. Rating: 90%

• Vintage: 2006
• Final Blend: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc 
• Fruit Source: 100% estate grown Farming: California 
• Appellation: St. Helena
• Harvest Date: October 9 – 26, 2006
• Sugar: 18 months in oak, 100% French oak, 65% new
• Acid: 6.1g/L TA
• PH: 3.61pH
• Brix at Harvest: 25.2
• Bottling Date: June 16 – 17, 2008
• Alcohol %: 14.1% alcohol by volume
• Price: $45

Nose: ”Forest-funk” combined with classic cherry, rose petal, plum and raspberry. A bit of cola action on the nose as well. I’m also picking up some spice as well. 

Taste: Black pepper, dark cherries, hints of raspberry and spice. I’m also get some chocolate, big league chew, eucaliptus and tobacco. A bit of caramel and tar action too on the back of the palate. this is a really good cab that’d rock the ball right out of the park when paired with a pan-seared, pepper-crusted steak. The finish is like the settled-down middle-aged person that knows who he/she is and where they’re going in life – very solid. 

Winery website: www.ehlersestate.com

It’s been a lot of personal fun over the past few years to watch Texas grow its wine industry – it is now the 5th-largest wine-producing state in the Union. Its vast landsapes have been doing a good job with certain grapes varieties and more recently we’ve started to see some bordeaux grapes popping up, but can Texas do them justice?

Lightcatcher Winery is located in the famous “Grapevine” area just outside of Dallas/Ft. Worth which is now home to scores of wineries – most of which are bringing Texas-pride to their products.

Technical Data:

• Alcohol: 14.9%
• Oak: Aged for 35 months
• Price: $32

Nose: Massive amounts of oak here – I’m still pulling the splinters out of my nose hairs. I saw that this wine was aged 35months on oak and that immediately worried me as being over-oaked and so far, the nose confirms that. In fact, the nose is so strong of oak that I barely pick up the blackberries, tobacco and road-tar elements.

Taste: Like the nose, there is so much freakin’ oak going on here that everything else is blown out the window. Menthol, medicince cabinet action with some plum and black cherry. The finish is cluttered with the splinters of oak I have to pick out of my teeth and is too hot.  I guess “they” aren’t joking when they say “everything is bigger in Texas” – in this case it clearly applies to the oak – maybe 35months is a bit too long eh?

Bottom Line: I’m sure there are merlot’s in Texas that are good, however – to me – this is not one of them and at $32 dollars, I’m gonna give it a major pass. This wine will cater to those who might work in the lumber industry or those who appreciate the fact they won’t have to look for a toothpick after dinner since they already have a mouth-full of them from drinking this wine.

W.E.P. Rating: 20%

Winery website: www.lightcatcher.com

This wine gets our new “oak bomb” logo:

Washington State has made its mark among wine drinkers all over the world with its Bordeaux varieties and out of those, Merlot is standing strong. In this 3-way round-up, I take bottles from three leading producers out of Walla Walla and see how they stack up. Each bottle retails for near the $50 dollar mark so this should prove to be rather interesting. We have producers up here in this state which are committed to making some of the best wines anywhere at any price – with all grape varieties – three of which are: PepperBridge, Northstar and Long Shadows Vintners.

2005 Northstar Walla Walla Merlot: W.E.P. Score: 80%

Technical Data:

• Total Acidity 0.58/100 ml
• pH 3.73
• Alcohol 14.4%
• Blend 80% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot
• The barrel regime included 80% French and 20% American oak, with 80% new barrels. The final blend consists of fruit from 8 distinct vineyard blocks. 
• Price: $50.00

Nose; Blackberries, currant, piecrust, tobacco, dark chocolate and pepper. Hints of charred bell pepper skin on the nose as well as leather glove. Sweaty arm-pit. 

Taste: Big-time blackberry, black cherry and cola along with big doses of black pepper and some chunks of leather – pretty good mouth-feel on this wine, however the finish is too short for a wine of its price-tag. 

2005 Pedestal Merlot: W.E.P. Score: 100%

Technical Data:

• Alcohol: 14.7% 
• pH: 3.83
• TA: 0.51 grams / 100ml 
• Blend:  86% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot, 4% Malbec
• Release date: February 2009
• Production: 1,877 cases 
• Price: $50 

Nose: Blackberry-soaked road-kill with black and white pepper coated over it- I also get blueberries, plum, gym-sock, baseball mit, black cherries and allspice. 

Taste: Excellent layering of flavors going on in this wine – the blueberry component is shining through as is the plum and spice. Big amounts of dark chocolate as well. I find the oak to be very well balanced with the almost obnoxious fruit coming through. Great tannin structure – this wine will easily lay down for the next 10-15 years and tastes great now as well.  This is by far one of the most elegant Merlot’s I’ve ever had anywhere and at any price.

This is a review I’ve actually been looking forward to for quite some time now and not because we’re dealing with cheap merlot here but because it’s WA vs. Cali. Washington produces more Merlot than any other red grape but California has been at it a lot longer. Both states have incredible wineries doing a really good job with this grape and each also have large-scale wineries which churn out wines for the cheap-skates.

For this review – I went to a local store and snatched up four bottles – two from each state and the only criteria is that they had to cost under $8 as we wanted to see what was possible from each state at this given price point.

I conducted each of these tastings completely blind in that I had someone else pour each wine and bring it out to me – one at a time, so I had no clue as to which wine I was drinking at the time.

2005 Hogue Cellars Merlot: W.E.P. Rating: 10%

Vinification
* The fruit was harvested between September 5th and October 24th at an average 24.7°Brix.
* The base wines fermented primarily with Pasteur Red yeast for an average of five days at a peak temperature of 91°F.
* After pressing they were all inoculated for malolactic fermentation and allowed to reach dryness with frequent racking.
* Once dry, the wines were aged, with oak exposure for up to ten months with the goal of preserving fruit and mellowing the wine.

Technical Data
* Appellation: Columbia Valley, Washington
* Varietal Percentages: 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot
* Brix at Harvest: 24.7°
* Total Acidity: 0.63/100 ml
* pH: 3.77
* Alcohol: 13.9% by volume
* Release Date: June 2006

Nose: Shoe polish, leather straps and blackberries and my dad’s smelly socks..

Taste: A really unbalanced effort that’s completely disjointed for me. It’s fruity, it’s dry and really makes me wish I had those 10-seconds of my life back… The tannins completely overpower the fruit here.

2004 “Two-Vines” Columbia Crest Merlot: W.E.P. Rating: 70%

Vinification
* Grapes were destemmed, crushed and inoculated to begin fermentation.
* Fermentation lasted 7-10 days on the skins, with a twice-daily pumpover regime.
* The wine aged 12 months in French and American oak barrels.

Technical Data
* Total acidity: 0.53 g/100ml
* pH: 3.66
* Alcohol: 13.50%

Nose: Dark plums and pepper-coated sued pants – some subtle hints of blueberry as well..

Taste: Cherry-coke without the fizz but mixed with white pepper and black raspberries and black plums. I also get the ramblings of some leather components as well and vanilla. Once again, the finish is too short and a bit too hot.

2003 St. George “Coastal” Merlot: W.E.P. Rating: 70%

Technical Data
* Appellation: California
* Alcohol: 12.3%
* Total Acidity: .61gm/100ml
* pH: 3.4
* Residual Sugar: .20

Nose: Not a strong nose here – I do pick up hints of cherries and tobacco with a slight twinge of white chocolate.

Taste: Serviceable – plums, black raspberry with hints of fruity pebbles. I get some dill pickle action on the end with a hot, short finish.

2005 Bohemian Highway Merlot: W.E.P. Rating: 80%

Technical Data
* Alcohol: 13%
* Residual Sugar: .5
* Total Acid: .63
* pH: 3.50

Nose: This wine has the most “grassy” smell out of the four – there’s some good vegetal action up in my grill like, tomato, asparagus and TONS of bell pepper. Blackberry and black plums round things out – this one definitely has the best nose of the bunch.

Taste: Will the person who left this piece of oak furniture in my glass please come forward? Huge vanilla notes which do come across as WAY over-oaked… Insane amounts of blueberry and blackberry for days.. Not a bad finish – it lingers on for a bit and isn’t too hot like the other wines. Nice peppery finish..

Overall Summary:
So I really wasn’t a huge fan of any of these four wines – the one I had the best hopes for, the Bohemian, has a tub of oak in it which killed it for me and the others were just rather uneventful. There are far too many other wines for the $8 mark which I’d easily gravitate to, the likes of most are from Argentina.

If you’re after an affordable Merlot then do yourself a favor and don’t be such a cheap-skate, spring for a couple more dollars or look to other producers and get something better.

I reviewed Milbrandt Vineyards‘ Riesling last month and wasn’t too impressed so I decided to give its 2005 Merlot a go to see if perhaps they can make red wine better than white. Butch Milbrandt and company sell tons of excellent fruit to some of Washington State’s top wineries so logic would have one believe their wines should be good as well, no?

Technical Notes:

• Composition: Merlot (84%), Cabernet Sauvignon (12%), Barbera (4%)
• Vineyards: Clifton, Clifton Hills, Sundance, Winebeau Vineyards
• Alcohol: 14.8%
• TA: 0.59
• pH: 3.67
• Price: $17

Nose: Leather-bound blackberries laced with white and black pepper. Slight hints of greeness smell old-world. I pick up some fire-roasted green pepper and some shoe polish.

Taste: Jammy blackberry spice with hints of black cherries and currants, really hot starting on the mid-palate and completely falls apart on the back-end.

Overall Summary:
For $17 this wine completely loses it for me – it’s clearly not worth the price as there are far superior wines (some of which I’ve reviewed) that absolutley knock this Merlot out of the park and beat it down like a thug in a back alley with a baseball bat. If you’re in the market for a good merlot, check out the H3 from Columbia-Crest or a good blend like the Fidelitas m100.

W.E.P. Scale Rating: 50%