A Wolf in Sheeps Clothing
Bottom Line: A Super Tuscan masquerading as...not a Super Tuscan. Pick it up anyway and either soak the label off or brown bag it. $16 or so.
The Rest Of The Story: (Disclosure: this wine was received as a press sample.) This whole blind tasting business can be a bit unnerving at times. But it does speak a truer truth.
Anyway.
Here's the deal with this wine: It kicks ass, but not in the way you'd expect it to. Read the tasting notes below and you'll understand why unveiling it was such a mind-blower...
Consummately Italian - that fresh acidic embrace is unmistakable. But this has more- much more...body, polish, finess, and a fruit component you can't help but flirt with. Long tannins call you back for another quenching burst. Could pass for a Super Tuscan or even a high end Sant' Antimo. Elegant, delightful, and unabashedly cosmopolitan. You could drink a lot of this.
Then, voila. The bag comes off the bottle and...WTF? Wow. Speechless. Embarassed, almost. Either we completely missed this or there was a mishap on the bottling line. And it might not be an isolated incident - we mistook a Franciscan Cab as a Zin, too. Regardless, refer to the tasting notes. Ding them for misrepresenting the varietal if you want, but Merlot isn't exactly suffering from too much prestige these days - and it's a damn fine beverage, whatever the label says.
The Rest Of The Story: (Disclosure: this wine was received as a press sample.) This whole blind tasting business can be a bit unnerving at times. But it does speak a truer truth.
Anyway.
Here's the deal with this wine: It kicks ass, but not in the way you'd expect it to. Read the tasting notes below and you'll understand why unveiling it was such a mind-blower...
Consummately Italian - that fresh acidic embrace is unmistakable. But this has more- much more...body, polish, finess, and a fruit component you can't help but flirt with. Long tannins call you back for another quenching burst. Could pass for a Super Tuscan or even a high end Sant' Antimo. Elegant, delightful, and unabashedly cosmopolitan. You could drink a lot of this.
Then, voila. The bag comes off the bottle and...WTF? Wow. Speechless. Embarassed, almost. Either we completely missed this or there was a mishap on the bottling line. And it might not be an isolated incident - we mistook a Franciscan Cab as a Zin, too. Regardless, refer to the tasting notes. Ding them for misrepresenting the varietal if you want, but Merlot isn't exactly suffering from too much prestige these days - and it's a damn fine beverage, whatever the label says.