1 Wine Dude

A Serious Wine Blog For the Not-So-Serious Drinker

Menu
  • Home
  • About
    • New? Start Here!
    • PR & Samples
    • Press & What-Have-You
  • Wine
    • by badge
      • crowd pleaser
      • elegant
      • kick-ass
      • overachiever
      • sexy
    • Full Reviews
    • Mini-Reviews
  • Stalk
    • facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram
    • News Break
    • pinterest
    • twitter
    • YouTube
  • Sign Up
  • Books
  • Services
  • Contact
Menu
1 Wine Dude

Merlot-Bashing Is For Douchebags (A Restrained And Tempered Report From The #PNV12 Vintage Perspective Tasting)5 min read

Posted on March 13, 2012September 17, 2012 by 1WineDude

in commentary, on the road, wine industry events, wine review

[ Editor’s note: While the following article contains a serious view on – and producer recommendations regarding – recent Napa Valley Merlot vintages, it employs a facetious style that may or may not offend you, depending primarily on whether or not you posses a sense of humor. If you are easily offended and/or have misplaced your sense of humor, please take care in reading the article. Also, if you’re a Merlot-hater who disagrees with anything that you find in this post, then you are wrong. And probably a jerk. Oh, crap… did I just offend you? Sorry… ]

Last year, I had a run-in with Napa Valley Pinot Noir at a multi-vintage perspective tasting held by the Napa Valley Vintners Association at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena. It was… not a fun experience. In fact, it was sort of like having your palate beat up in a bar fight, with cigarette ashes poured over it for spite afterward, only slightly more dignified.

So it’s with much relief that I tell you the 2012 version of the NVV perspective tasting was substantially more pleasant, and gave me the opportunity to go through a blind tasting of three different vintages (2007, 2008 & 2009) from nine different producers. I skipped the overly-crowded Cabernet tasting entirely (hey, the Premiere Napa Valley auction was the following morning, and there’s only so much big-ass Cab I can handle in a 24-hour period) and went straight for the substantially less-well-attended tasting of that most-maligned of reds, Merlot.

After that short PNV Merlot immersion, I’m here to tell you a few things… but I want to start with this:

Merlot-bashing is for douchebags.

Seriously… over-generalizing to the point of hating on anything in the wine world is just plain stupid, because nothing contains more exceptions to prove the rules than the wine world. Hating on Merlot because a fictional character in a movie that is eight friggin’ years old (the movie, I mean, not the character… an 8-year-old bitching about wine in a major motion picture wouldn’t even be funny, it would just be weird) said that it makes sucky wine (and this is a character who actually drinks Merlot at the end of the same damn film)…? Well, that move is just so douchebaggy that we’d need to farm out design work to third-world sweat tech shops (hey Apple… are you listening??) in order to raise the manpower required to create enough instrumentation to measure the enormity of the douchbaggy-ness…

I’ve lost count of the number of producers who have told me that they’ve forgone labeling their wines as Merlot under the (justifiable) fear that it would harm sales, when their wines are actually very, very good. Granted, I’m not gonna count too high because I’m probably ADD and get bored quickly, but you get the point. And yes, it has actually happened.

I acknowledge that when Merlot is bad it is really bad, it is epically bad, it is “chicken fat, stale herbs & ‘Grade D Edible’ chocolate mixed together” bad. I will give you that.

But when it’s good? When it’s done right? Well, then Merlot really is second only to Pinot Noir in terms of silky, come-hither supple sexiness in the red wine world.

[ Editors note to Merlot-haters: “you bite donkey bong!” Why are you still reading this, don’t you have any self-respect?!??]

So… in case you’re still confused on where I stand on this, then I will add only that those who hate Merlot for reasons other than having tried many examples and just don’t like any of them, are, in fact, douchebags. In fact, even if you’ve tried several examples and decided you hate it, then you probably just haven’t tried enough examples are at least knocking on the front door of douchebag hotel.

Whew.

Ok, so now that I’ve got that off my chest, we can get on with the winners (and losers) of the blind tasting. Because hopefully the douchebags have already stopped reading at this point.

Generally, the big winner was… the 2007 NV Merlot vintage. Though the three-vintage perspective tasting is certainly very small in scope, NVV provides these wines as being typical examples from the respective vintages, and so it’s probably not too untoward of me to give you a few VERY general insights on the vintages based on tasting what the NVV had on offer (now calling people douchebags, that was probably too untoward…).

The 2007 NV Merlots were showing well almost across the board: soft, supple, elegant, with a nice mixture of black fruits, black olive notes, oak spices and velvety textures. My faves:

  • Castello di Amorosa (very round, rich and spicy)
  • Duckhorn (chalky, tangy, but still sporting the velvet and black fruits & herbs)
  • Peju (gripping, mineral-driven, and spicy with a lot of red fruits)
  • Shafer (a lovely wine, with a ton of plums & spices, and a just crazy good, sexy mouthfeel)
  • Trefethen (might have been the best of the bunch – like dried herbs over a bed of soft dark chocolate).

2008, with much of the Merlot harvested into October, was a mixed bag: bigger wines for the most part, sporting darker fruit, leather and heady tannic structure. Only one winner from that bunch for me (yeah, really):

  • Rutherford Hill (the only entry from 2008 that had a lighter touch, I thought, with a guilty-pleasure’s worth of chocolate tones – and you can find it for pretty cheap!).

The 2009s? Tighter than drums right now. Some were even flirting with under-ripe aromas. But a couple also had a nice acidic lift to go with their sexy, supple feel:

  • Castello di Amorosa (sexy, showy, fruity, but with intriguing spice notes and a relatively firm structure)
  • Trefethen (bright, tight and not lacking might – definitely the most vibrant and “alive” of the 2009s on display).

An interesting tidbit: my faves almost exclusively clocked in at under 15% abv, most of them being in the low 14% range… not sure if that means that, for me, Merlot flabbiness has a threshold that can be hinted at via booze percentage. But I can tell you that I’m thankfully not douchebaggy enough that I would consider putting a stop to trying interesting Merlots; you know, in order to gather the “data” needed to make a conclusion on that…

Cheers!

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

28 thoughts on “Merlot-Bashing Is For Douchebags (A Restrained And Tempered Report From The #PNV12 Vintage Perspective Tasting)5 min read”

  1. Karyn says:
    March 13, 2012 at 9:52 am

    This is great! You've said some things I wish I could say to my customers.

    1. 1WineDude says:
      March 13, 2012 at 11:59 am

      Thanks, Karyn – feel free to show them this :).

  2. @QuitWINEing says:
    March 13, 2012 at 10:06 am

    I have this argument with people more often than I care to discuss. Even recently on twitter, another fellow wine lover bashed the grape saying, "This is almost as horrible as drinking Merlot!" "Really?" I replied back, "Let me guess, you're a Pinot Noir lover?" LOL

    Not liking Merlot is about as dumb as saying you hate Chardonnay because all you've ever tasted is over-oaked versions. Give me a break!

    Cheers!

    1. 1WineDude says:
      March 13, 2012 at 12:05 pm

      @QuitWINEing – thanks, good comparison!

    2. TD Wines says:
      April 20, 2012 at 10:04 pm

      Takes the words right out of my mouth.

      1. 1WineDude says:
        April 20, 2012 at 10:59 pm

        Thanks, TD – which words, “Merlot,” “douchebag,” or both? ;-)

  3. @gunbunwine says:
    March 13, 2012 at 10:35 am

    AWESOME post, Joe! Thank you for championing Merlot! Now we need to put together some kind of Sonoma merlot immersion, yes? Or at least come see us sometime soon.

    In the meantime, just have to share the merlot video we released yesterday here, because it is does indeed fit in perfectly with the theme of your post: A three-minute history of merlot: http://www.gunbun.com/merlot

    1. Nick says:
      March 13, 2012 at 11:57 am

      "the content owner has not made this video available on mobile devices" thu should be able to adjust this permission within youtube settings. or just search on that error language. it is a great funny video and ppl should go watch it.

    2. 1WineDude says:
      March 13, 2012 at 12:01 pm

      @gunbunwine – love that vid, especially the Malbec part!

  4. gabe says:
    March 13, 2012 at 10:51 am

    shhh….Joe, don' t let the secret out.
    Let everyone keep hating Merlot while we get great deals on one Napa Valley's great wines.

    1. 1WineDude says:
      March 13, 2012 at 12:01 pm

      Gabe – good point. Whoops! :)

  5. SAHMmelier says:
    March 13, 2012 at 11:53 am

    Right there with you! Although, I agree with Gabe. I am enjoying the nice prices that are resulting from the ridiculous bashing. Can I share my piece on Merlot? http://wp.me/p1MvvL-4o

    1. 1WineDude says:
      March 13, 2012 at 12:02 pm

      Share away!

  6. Nick says:
    March 13, 2012 at 12:00 pm

    As a merlot lover, I'm loving life right now. Come to merlot-ville, it's where the value is, if there can be said to be value in Napa…

  7. 1WineDude says:
    March 13, 2012 at 12:03 pm

    Ah, the old “value in Napa” is an oxymoron thing :)

  8. Mary says:
    March 13, 2012 at 3:15 pm

    I share the same feelings, only in relation to Chardonnay haters and all those "ABC" folks… You know who you are!

    1. 1WineDude says:
      March 13, 2012 at 3:20 pm

      Thanks, Mary – call em out!! :)

  9. Andy says:
    March 13, 2012 at 4:39 pm

    In general, I think the main difference with California Merlot compared to Cab sauvignon and Pinot, is that in California — cab and pinot can frequently excel as stand alone varietals whereas Merlot often need blending with other Bordeaux varietals for structure. Lately, I am getting my wine thing going for these merlot predominate blends so much so that my 2012 garage wine project is going to be 1.75 tons of a Napa vineyard designate wine consisting of ~ 60% Merlot, 25% Cab Sauvg and 15% Cab Franc…mmm…

    And the GunBun video was freaking hysterical!

    1. 1WineDude says:
      March 13, 2012 at 6:44 pm

      Thanks, Andrew. Please report back on how it goes!

  10. WeeRee San says:
    March 13, 2012 at 5:18 pm

    You get better and better Joe.

    1. 1WineDude says:
      March 13, 2012 at 6:43 pm

      Thank you, Wee Ree! When are you coming to visit us?? :)

  11. Nick Webb says:
    March 13, 2012 at 7:33 pm

    Funny that you mentioned producers leaving merlot off the label when possible. I purchased a "blend" today, looked at the label and noticed that the wine was 80% merlot and 20% cab sauv- in other words, a merlot.

    1. 1WineDude says:
      March 13, 2012 at 10:04 pm

      Nick – exactly! I hate that producers have to do that, the reality of the market is depressing sometimes…

  12. Maki says:
    March 13, 2012 at 7:50 pm

    wish I was there…

  13. Jonathan Pey says:
    March 13, 2012 at 8:48 pm

    Hey Joe – good seeing you at Premiere Napa Valley – glad you had the cojones to write a story like this. Did you see my TEXTBOOK Oakville Merlot lot at Premiere? We decided to have some fun and called it "OMG it's good (but don't tell anyone it's Merlot). The lot sold for 2x last years lot – so go figure. Maybe folks are (again) realizing that Merlot, when done correctly in a superb site like Oakville, can be sublime. Keep raising hell!

    1. 1WineDude says:
      March 13, 2012 at 10:07 pm

      Thanks, Jonathan – glad to hear you were ballser enough to go with that lot, and that it did well! Cheers!

  14. Clare Valley Wines says:
    April 20, 2012 at 3:44 am

    An interesting, straightforward and honest review on Merlot. Thanks for your thoughts.

    1. 1WineDude says:
      April 20, 2012 at 7:46 am

      CVW – thanks

Comments are closed.

Dude’s New Books

Wine Taster's Guide Now Available!

“Bravo! Wine Taster's Guide is a perfect primer for both wine novices and learning enthusiasts." ―Evan Goldstein, Master Sommelier

Wine Taster's Journal Now Available!

"Wine Taster's Journal belongs in everyone's cellar… preferably wine-stained, dog-eared, and well-used.” ―Brian Freedman, wine/spirits/travel columnist

Get Some Wine

Popular Stuff

  • Wine in the Time of Coronavirus, Part 27: Exploring the Unexplored in Oregon
    Wine in the Time of Coronavirus, Part 27: Exploring the Unexplored in Oregon
  • Wine Reviews: Weekly Mini Round-Up for February 22, 2021
    Wine Reviews: Weekly Mini Round-Up for February 22, 2021
  • Wine in the Time of Coronavirus, Part 26: Overachievers (Rodney Strong Recent Releases)
    Wine in the Time of Coronavirus, Part 26: Overachievers (Rodney Strong Recent Releases)
  • Wine in the Time of Coronavirus, Part 25: Like Handmade Pasta (Sensi Recent Releases)
    Wine in the Time of Coronavirus, Part 25: Like Handmade Pasta (Sensi Recent Releases)
  • Wine Reviews: Weekly Mini Round-Up For November 16, 2020
    Wine Reviews: Weekly Mini Round-Up For November 16, 2020

About + Contact

Joe Roberts

Joe Roberts

Certified Specialist of Wine & WSET Advanced
Author, speaker, consultant, wine judge, & critic.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS Feed

Find Stuff

Sign up, lushes!

Join 36,571 other subscribers

Fine Print

This site is licensed under Creative Commons.

Code of Ethics and Privacy Policies.

Play nice!

Get The Guide

Wine Tasters Guide Footer
#1 New Release in Amazon's Wine Tasting category
This site uses cookies. Duh. Cookie Policy
©2021 1 Wine Dude
Yo yo YO!

Wine Tasters Guide InstagramWell, hello there!

If you like what you’re reading (and want to like more of what you’re drinking), consider subscribing.

If you’re up for a more immersive wine learning experience, check out my books and other services.

Cheers!

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.