Merryvale Starmont Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 Napa Valley

Although I usually condone (and insist on) trying new wines to expand your horizons and learn to enjoy all the fan and adventure that fermented grape juice has to offer, it’s also OK to drink the same wine more than once (just don’t make a habit of it!). Indeed, there are often times you walk into a wine shop with the express purpose of purchasing a bottle or a brand you’re familiar with — perhaps as a gift for someone else, or to match with a specific meal, or simply because you know you’re going to enjoy it. Personally, I have about a dozen or so “reliable standby” brands that I count on year after year. One of those is the Merryvale Vineyards and Winery in Napa Valley.

Merryvale concentrates on the typical California varietals — Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. Year in and year out, their bottlings are consistently high quality throughout the lineup, and give you good bang for your buck. I particularly enjoy the reds from their entry level “Starmont” line, including this Cabernet Sauvignon — which also has a bit of Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc blended in for added complexity.

Tasting Notes

Forward nose open with ripe black and red berry fruit, along with some earth and tar. In the mouth, the texture is smooth, almost creamy, with rich, ripe black berry fruit – blackberry, cassis, stewed plum / prune. Also touches of tobacco, earth, and a hint of spice add complexity. Very tasty and enjoyable on its own, even better with a ribeye, sirloin or skirt steak. Acidity is medium, tannins are ripe and medium – neither is overpowering at all, but rather provide structure and are in good balance with the almost-jammy ripe fruit. Finish is also balanced and pleasing, offering good fruit and hints of earth, black pepper, and tobacco before yielding to some chalky tannins at the very end. Enjoyable, appropriately priced (about $23), and ready to drink now.

a-8 t-8 b-8 fc-7 v-7 ~ 88 Points

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Hill of Content Shiraz 2004

Australian Shiraz has become overly popular — to a fault. Once a secret among wine geeks “in the know” as an affordable alternative to high-priced Syrah-based wines from the Rhone, Aussie Shiraz has become wildly popular among all imbibers, to the point where pedestrian wine drinkers are surprised to find out that French wineries are “now” making “Shiraz” as well — but spelling it differently.

With the influx of Shiraz on shelves across the United States — and overflowing the bargain bins — trying to find high-quality bottles is akin to searching a needle in a haystack. Sure, it’s fairly easy to find a nine-dollar Shiraz filled with upfront jammy fruit, but what about something with complexity, or a wine to contemplate? Perhaps a Shiraz with a finish that lasts longer than the time it takes to bat an eyelash?

They’re out there, but it’s hard to know them without tasting them first — kind of a catch-22. One way is to find them is to follow the old “you get what you pay for”, as it’s unlikely you’ll find a mindblowing wine for, say, eleven bucks. But when you start pulling out the bills with Andrew Jackson’s face to pay for a bottle, you’d like to be satisfied with the purchase. Aside from relying on friends’ recommendations, I have a secret: look for a strip around the neck of the bottle, or above the label, that says “Australian Premium Wine Collection“. Chances are good that if you see their seal stuck to the bottle, you will at least get what you pay for when it comes to Australian wine. Such was the case in my plucking this Hill of Content Shiraz off the shelf.

The Tasting Notes

A big jammy wine – so big it seems to be jumping out of the glass. The aromas are open, with ripe fruit of blackberry, black raspberry, menthol, alcohol, with hints of earth and spice. Take a taste and you are rewarded with a mouthful of rich, ripe blackberry, black raspberry, and mild touches of earth, vanilla spice, tar, dark chocolate, and tobacco. Ripe, medium-high tannins and medium acidity balance things out nicely, and become apparent in the finish which is fairly long and pleasant. Though there seemed to be a good dose of alcohol on the nose, it blew off after a few minutes in the glass and wasn’t overbearing in the mouth. It’s a touch hot at the very end of the finish, but nothing out of the ordinary for a wine packing so much punch. Drink this with a hamburger, sirloin steak, runny cheese, or well-grilled veggies. If you’re really into big, jammy reds, you will also enjoy drinking this by itself.

a-8 t-9 b-8 fc-7 v-8 ~ 90 Points

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Drylands Pinot Noir Marlborough 2005

A few months back, we reviewed Drylands Sauvignon Blanc — a good, clean, nicely priced summer sipper from Marlborough, New Zealand. Not surprisingly, their Pinot Noir was similarly clean and well-valued.

The Tasting Notes

Very typical “New World” style Pinot Noir. In other words, it has wide open, bright, ripe, forward fruit on the nose and the palate. Aromas scream strawberry, red cherry, and red raspberry. Flavors are similar, with an almost jammy drench of strawberry and red raspberry upfront, which yields to mild sweet earth and some bell pepper in the midpalate and earth and black raspberry and black cherry in the finish. Acidity is mild, barely enough to match with poultry, and tannins are mild to medium. A fruity, clean, fairly polished wine that’s more like a Cru Beaujolais than a red Burgundy. Enjoyable on its own, you can also match it with mildly seasoned chicken, pork, turkey and fish, or with vegetarian dishes. Try it with Indian cuisine as well. At an SRP of $17.99, this is a good value — one of the better Pinot Noirs you’ll find under twenty bucks.

a-8 t-8 b-7 fc-7 v-8 ~ 88 Points