2006 Beringer Merlot California Collection

Terry Post:

Over the years I have enjoyed many bottles of wine and have come to believe that humans have never lived in a time with more, higher-quaity and less expensive wine. We live in a time when it is almost impossible to find a bad bottle of wine. Like I said, almost impossible.

The truth is, the 2006 Beringer Merlot California Collection is not a bad wine or an awful wine: it just isn't a good wine.

My impression: Medium bodied with astringent mouth-drying tannins on the tongue and rich plum on the nose. Vegital and medicinal on the finish. Not pleasant to drink.

I paid $6.99 for the 750 mL bottle at my local wine store. Easily the least enjoyable wine I have drank in quite some time.

~ Terry

2006 Red Truck Merlot, California Central Coast

Terry post:

The Merlot grape was overdone in the 1990s and its popularity resulted in a lot of vintners hurrying sub-par product out the door in a rush to make a buck on a hot varietal. The result of that haste has been a Merlot back-lash where individuals who tried the wine and were dissatisfied with a lousy product have not yet come back.

There has recently been, thankfully, a new intense focus on the variety and resurgence in the qualities which made Merlot popular in the first place: Complexity, approachability, food-friendliness and price. In terms of classical music: Merlot is the easily approachable Beethoven while Cabernet Sauvignon is the more challenging Brahms.

We never carried Red Truck in the restaurant because it is widely distributed and its low price point firmly established. This brand was featured at my local wine shop (and gas station) alongside of the Red Bicyclette brand wines and I gave each a try last summer. Both were good. Red Truck was better.

My impressions: Medium-to-dark ruby in color. Über complexity bundled into a very reasonably priced wine. There is a lot going on in this wine and it is all good. Very full mouth-feel with smoky, juicy grapes, cherries, and pepper with a long, lingering finish. Firmly tannic.

Would pair very well with wild game, or beef, or most any other red meat. It would excel should the entrée feature a hearty mushroom, cream or butter based sauce. Very approachable. It is a wine engineered for food and whose finest characteristics shine as a continuo against which the richness of the meal is played.

I paid $9.99 for my bottle of the 2006 Red Truck Merlot and note that the 2007 vintage is selling for $10.99 at the same store. I have not yet tried the 2007 vintage but will do so in the coming weeks and will let you know how it turns out.

~ Terry

Gallo Family Merlot (NV)

Terry Post:

Okay you may ask. What about that Gallo Family Merlot (NV) you wrote about a week ago to accompany the Beef Burgundy?

My thoughts: Medium-weight wine and not at all like the agressive heavy-weight Bordeaux's. Soft and supple with obvious cherry and chocolate notes typical of Merlot. If it was blended with Cabernet Sauvignon it is a very subtle low-percentage blending because the tannic nature of the Cab is not evident. If it is there, it is very subtle indeed. Great color.

Gallo suffers when it tries to make something other than jug wine because, well, it made jug wine for so many years.

If I were in charge of Gallo I would acknowledge the branding issue that haunts the company and stand up a series of artisan small-scale brands to complement the mother ship. Were the label on this wine bottle anything other than Gallo, they’d be able to double the price without any push-back from the wine drinking population.

Do I like it? Yes.

Would I buy it again? Yes.

~ Terry