The Franciscan was originally established in 1973 and began producing it's wines in 1975. Today the Franciscan is owned by Constellation Brands (http://www.cbrands.com/home) and is still known in the world of wine for it's amazing Cabernet Sauvignon but as you will see in this case, also makes a heck of a Merlot as well. From the beginning the winery was graced with some pretty big names in wine such as Justin Meyer who is famous for the Silver Oak Winery and made the first Cabernet Sauvignon for the Franciscan. Another noteworthy person who the Franciscan owes a deep gratitude to is August Huneeus (the owner of Quintessa Winery) for developing their proprietary Bordeaux blend of Reds. You would think that after feeling this way about the winery that it would have always been a favorite or a go to wine for me but for some strange reason it was actually simply forgotten about by me. Many years later I re-discovered it when I was at Costco here in Las Vegas. Costco is one of those places that has a really nice wine selection and one that has at times some forgotten vintages and wines. On one particular trip they actually had the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon which I rated (http://desertwineguy.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-desert-wine-guy-2012-franciscan.html) extremely well at 96 points, the highest I have ever rated a wine. Having now re-discovered the winery I vowed never to forget about it again. Well, true to my word I have just completed a review of another Franciscan Estates wine, the 2012 Franciscan Napa Valley Merlot. How does this wine hold up in it's tradition of impressing me? Read on and find out.
O.K, lets move on now and follow up with the review. On the sides of my Palatte I tasted a note of Cassis that bathed the sides of my tongue with it's presence totally (like to the max:) So far this wine has been opened for a total of 3 hours. Between helping The Desert Wine Girl Jr's with Homework and reviewing spelling words with them, attempting to read a popular wine magazine and write this review there has been a total of around 3 hours. This wine is still going strong and while it has not developed anymore (which is perfectly fine with me) aside from the note of a more developed Blackberry that seems to have gotten darker in its presentation without increasing its sweetness level. To me the wine establishes itself within its 1.5 hours of decanting but could have been extended to 3 hours this wine does not need to do or accomplish much more in my book. So, you think that I am done and ready to wrap this up huh? Well you are almost correct in that assumption but there is one more note to discuss. How would a really super note of Molasses strike you? Well, that is what I experienced. That note is present and is simply superb and also assists in providing the available sweetness (or as I came to think of it as) a fruit forwardness note I briefly mentioned earlier. This particular note of fruit forwardness does seem to be a result of the Molasses and it is something to be expected. Because the Molasses note is present it does provide that medium level of sweetness but in the Mollasses form. Did I mention that the Molasses note is spectacular? Forgive me if I neglected to mention that little bit of information , please do forgive me as it is a terrible important item here and a note that is of ultra importance to the outcome of this wine and this review. There is a big difference I believe in the taste of a simple sugar and the taste (or note) of Molasses. To me a note of sugar can make a wine fruit forward enough to destroy it or create a sugar bomb (see my review)(http://desertwineguy.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-desert-wine-guy-keep-your-sugar-out.html) which I am certain we have all experienced before at some time or another. A nice Molasses note is on the sweet side but disguises that sweetness as Molasses which in a Red wine is surely more than acceptable in my book.
So, we are at the point of wrapping this review up. What I rate this wine will remain a mystery for a little while longer but I will tell you again that I am indeed impressed. Here in my glass is a wine that I had Decanted for 1.5 hours prior to its tasting and it was a well deserved and productive time for sure. Do yourself a favor and give this wine the time (3 hours) to open up as you would with any expertly made made red. It is hard to simply lay out my feelings on such a full bodied and complex Merlot and you will have to forgive me to for elaborating so extensively but I did want to be able to persuade you that you must buy a at least three bottles of this wine. A peppery steak is begging for this wine to accompany it at Dinner. Black Tie event coming up in December and you want to impress the wine lover who invited you or has been a great friend of client? This wine is a fine choice. Bottom line here serious Merlot lovers is pick up at least three bottles of this wine. Why three you ask? Well, one bottle you must drink right now. Now you are down to two bottles of this wonderful wine. A special event takes care of another bottle bringing you now to one sad bottle left. You get my point? O.K, it is time for my rating of this wine. On The Desert Wine Guy Rating Scale I am putting this wine at a comfortable ........ 94 points.
The Desert Wine Guy
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