The Desert Wine Guy - Golden Gate Vinters Merlot

Golden Gate Vinters Merlot

    This review will be an unusual one for me. For one thing this is going to be a relatively short article for The Desert Wine Guy. I really enjoy educating you guys on wine and usually try to spend some time giving some background on the Vineyard or Winery itself. This time though there really isn't anything to educate you on, sorry. This is a very straight forward, cheaply made wine. There is not even a year on the bottle by the way so I can't even tell you that information. I guess the saying "it is what it is" is appropriate here. With that being said here we go.
   The other day I was walking out of my kitchen and I happened to notice (for the millionth time) that in one of the wine racks there was a wine named "Golden Gate Vinters Merlot". I don't know why but I always seem to notice this wine quite often. I remember buying the wine and it was around $4. I bought it a few years ago, long before I transformed into The Desert Wine Guy :) I actually bought the wine to help fill up some wine racks that were half full. Well anyway I got tired of looking at it and decided that I was going to do something about it. I was going to finally get rid of this cheap wine. Let's see now, how do I get rid of a wine? I finally came up with a great answer, I was now forced (yeah OK) to drink it. Soooo now your thinking "a $4 wine Desert Wine Guy, really"? Yeah I know, I know but dumping out wine is usually never a good thing and not a habit I want to get into. I opened it and brought it upstairs to the 80's Loft, poured a glass and sat down for the review. How did it go? Read on below to find out.
   Let's begin with the pour. There isn't much to talk about here. The wine displayed a very slight reddish tint and was watery, very watery in appearance in the glass. That is the way it rested in the glass as well. That is the extent of the pour.
   The Bouquet was a little bit more complex then the pour and from it you could think you were
about to taste a decent wine. When the glass was brought to my nose I detected some Cassis along with some Black Cherry which seemed very nice and to be honest, not different from some other wines that I have reviewed and liked. Following on the heels of these two aromas was a medium Blackberry aroma. OK, not to bad for a $4 wine, things were looking up here.
   How did it taste Desert Wine Guy, how did it taste? Well here is where there were some issues. The wine has a very, bright overpowering, Cherry sweetness. The taste was almost like Cherry Pie. There was some Oak with Black Cherry thrown in for good measure almost to try and save the wine. You can forget about any form of Tannins because they didn't exist. To my surprise the wine did open up after about 45 minutes and to my further surprise the wine almost wanted to want to taste good but the sweetness was simply to much to overcome. While I did taste the other notes they were overshadowed by that overbearing sweetness. In the end I have to say that I would like to taste this wine without that sweetness because I think it had potential to be a decent wine. The sugar level must be threw the roof here and unfortunately that ruins any potential this wine MIGHT have had.
   In conclusion here, The wine is almost barely drinkable and while I did finish it this it is not a wine The Desert Wine Guy would bring to a get together where there are people who would look at me and think "he should know better, I'm surprised at him" or for that matter even give as a gift to anybody who knows anything about wine. I guess it would be acceptable to the Wine Cooler crowd or if you had friends who were not wine drinkers and were having a Summer pool party and wanted something sweet and refreshing but that is it (I would rather have the Wine Cooler, myself). As I said already, I would like to drink this wine without the over the top sugary taste I think then it could be a decent wine. The bottom line here is this. For $4 it is at least set at the correct price point. If you find yourself in the aforementioned situations with friends then go for it. On the other hand If you are looking for a wine to impress or to enjoy for yourself, looks elsewhere.

   On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I give it 80 points.

                                                                                                                   The Desert Wine Guy

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