Rombauer Vineyards
Merlot
Carneros
St. Helena, California, USA
2006
14.4%
$35.00 -- ALC, Austin, TX
Color: Medium to deep garnet
Nose: Raspberry, spice, cocoa
Body: Medium to Full
Front: Ripe raspberry
Middle: Sweet basil
Back: Chocolate, soft tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork
The flavors in this wine are stunning, but it's the structure that's so impressive. Get some and drink it. It will disappoint few. No, never mind. Shun it. Drive down the price. Send me bottles that you disdain to drink because you saw Sideways, dammit, and you know that truly deep-feeling Western subjects favor Pinot Noir and never drink Merlot.*
I had this one with a classic Cabernet meal: seared steak, garlic mashed potatoes, blue cheese-dressed salad. It stood up to it like a sophomore English major fighting for a B+ instead of a B, and as so often happens in that case, it triumphed. And this was a well-marbled steak, so unlike the sophomore's, this was a real victory.
* Wasn't that a Merlot that Miles ended up drinking, in ecstasy, at the end...? Just sayin'.
