Remington Remmel

9.0

Extremely fruit forward, low tannins, really good if you’re into that kind of thing. Black current heavy on the nose — 8 days ago

William

9.1

A good rioja kind of expensive $45 — 5 months ago

"Odedi"

9.6

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

Deep ruby, almost Inky in color, with a very short purplish rim.

Beautiful nose of blackberries, black plums, red cherries, tobacco, light vanilla, spices, cedar, herbs, light earth, chocolates, black pepper and eucalyptus. What a gorgeous nose.

Full-bodied, smooth and elegant, with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with black plums, black cherries, earth, tobacco, cedar, vanilla, licorice, spices, chocolates, herbs, leather and black pepper.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This is a gorgeous Merlot from Napa Valley. Rich, extracted and elegant. Well balanced and fruit forward.

This 7-year-old is drinking very nicely now, and will continue to age nicely in the next 10 to 15 years.

Nicely balanced with a gorgeous mouthfeel. Not in your face kind of wine, which I really appreciate.

Good right out of the bottle, and better after an hour of airtime, but I did not decant it. As it opens up, more red fruits show up. Really nice, tangy and interesting.

I've had it a few times before, and it is always special. One of the best Merlos for my palate.

Thank you Scott for sharing this with me.

Good by itself or with food, and will pair nicely with a nice piece of steak. I tried it with the French Brie, but it did not work out too well. Much better with the dried meats.

A blend of 96% Merlot with tiny amounts of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged in (85% new) French Oak barrels for 20 months.

14.9% alcohol by volume.

96 points.

$120. — 2 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.0

Another big boi from this producer. Obviously uses at least a significant proportion of partially dried grapes. Fairly saturated color. Nose is rather subdued, reluctantly giving up scents of leather, underbrush, crushed rock, and dark cherry underneath all of that non-fruit stuff. In the mouth, it’s big, with initial slightly bitter, extracted notes. Tannic. Dissimilar from straight Valpos in its size and austerity. Dissimilar from Ripasso-style Valpos in that the fruit is not especially ripe or sweetish. It will go well with our stuffed shells in red sauce, but is a little challenging on its own. It occurs to me that this might fit in well in a tasting of 2017s from the left bank in Bordeaux. In other words, very atypical for a Valpo. Still, it’s pretty good, as long as you don’t harbor any expectations of typicity.

UPDATE: two nights later (using a vacuum closure), this has actually improved. Kind of amazing for a Valpo of this age. The fruit has moved closer to front-and-center, and it seem a bit more Calpo-like, though it’s still pretty large-framed. Upping score from 8.8 to 9.0. — 7 days ago

Paul Morrill

9.1

Delicious medium-bodied, medium tannins, medium acid - pretty much medium everything, which kind of makes it great? — 5 months ago

with Mads

Carlos Gonzalez

9.5

My kind of Cali cab. — 3 years ago

Ericsson

9.6

The closest thing to true Bordeaux style red blend from Napa. This wine really accentuates the vintage and the terroir, along with fruit and soil. The Dominus Estate manages the vineyard via dry farming, relying on nature for water, making a profound difference on great vintages such as 2016. Find a good vintage Dominus and you’re bound to have one of kind. Cheers. — 2 months ago

Konrad Ziegler

9.2

At Suds & Bottles in Canton — 5 months ago

Corson Fidler

9.1

This is basically the only Chardonnay that we have ever both agreed that we liked! The nice parts of Oak with no butter but still that tartness, kind of like a Sauvignon Blanc. — 3 years ago

with Kelly

Jake Hajer

9.2

Very good. Although the oak tasted a little weird. — 3 years ago