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| 2018 Chateau Ste. Michelle, Merlot - Columbia Valley |
When I first began reading wine magazines and reviewing wines, I never saw those wines I would review in any of those magazines. True most of the wines I reviewed were small label, inexpensive wines but some of them were also very good and stood out above the rest of the pack no matter how small and inexpensive they were. Why I asked, would wine magazines skip over these wines? I never got the answer to that question although I have my suspicions. Thankfully today, that is changing as these big wine magazines have decided to allow small label, inexpensive wins to finally not only grace their pages, but also rate pretty well. This delay is one of the reasons why I have major doubts concerning the legitimacy of these wine magazines reviews as far as being on the "up & up" so to speak. Another reason is that a few years ago, Mrs. Desert Wine Girl and I actually had a fancy wine dinner with a well known winemaker from the Napa Valley and while the girls (my wife & his handler) went to the bathroom, him and I had a chance to really talk and one thing we talked about was Wine Spectator magazine. This winemakers opinion of that magazine was shall we say, less then flattering.
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| Beautiful Chateau Ste. Michelle |
Overall in my opinion, what it all boils down to is that when money (advertising and relationships) is involved no matter how much, there is nothing and no one above reproach, this by the way applies to the medical industry as well but I will leave that thought there. Yes folks, with the average wine today selling for a little over $13 and people being less willing or able to afford high priced wine which the majority of the time is no better, I guess the snooty wine "pros" have woken up and realized they still need money for their empire to exist so in comes you and I, the average wine lover. So with this being said, today I will be reviewing a wine that is priced perfectly for us lowly, average wine lovers :)
Today I will be reviewing the 2018 Chateau Ste. Michelle, Merlot - Columbia Valley. I have
seen this wine on clearance the last few times I went to my local
grocery store and decided today to take a chance, it needed to finally be adopted, taken home, as it looked rather lonely just sitting on the shelf. The wine was priced at $9.56 which was reduced from
the normal $12.95 the store usually sells it for. The wine
comes in at 13.5% alcohol and the bottle is cork (real) sealed. As for
the makeup of the wine, it is my understanding that there is an unknown bit of
Syrah added to the Merlot.
Taking a look at the label now, it is a typical Chateau Ste. Michelle
label. While it is true that I have never been what you would call "crazy" about the wineries basic label, I have always felt that it did a decent job of conveying a
sense of semi-seriousness to that particular lineup of offerings. I also really like the back
label and the way it starts off with the script/font that the words "Chateau
Ste. Michelle" are written in. I also like how they put some general
information of the sugar content there as well which is not common.
Moving on now to the nose characterization of the wine, I am immediately picking up a spiced mocha that starts the
nose off here and I have to say that it is very nice as it provides almost a
sense of warmth to the bouquet. The nose also offers up a possibly dangerous perceived sense of perhaps a slight
richness being present in the wine and also hints at a possible bit of depth to the wine as well.
Topping off the nose is a peppery note here and by the way it all comes across, I hope it translates over nicely to the palate presentation, let's find out.
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| Merlot Grapes Hanging On The Vine |
As I move to the palate now I want to tell you that earlier in the day,
before I bought the wine, I read a few reviews on it and they showed the
wine to be a very nicely made Merlot, people were impressed. Whether I feel the same way or not, remains to be seen so let's go ahead and taste the wine now and find out. Okay, so having taken my first sip of the wine now, I have to very early on in this
review tell you that the wine is in reality.....oh darn, I almost
did it again, I almost gave away the ending and I simply can't do that so let
me back up a bit. Luckily that spiced mocha note that I got on the nose transfers right
over to here and it is.....well....incredibly to say the least. Everything I assumed I would (or could) get here from the nose is delivered up on the palate just as expected.
The perceived bit of a slight richness shows up here as well just as I guessed it would on the nose.
Both the notes of that spiced mocha and that bit of richness amazingly really work well together and actually elevate one another. Together this combo note ends up being a sort of roadmap that the wine continues forward on. There is a
juiciness to the wine that is right up there and yet doesn't try to fight
those first few notes which is good as it works out so super well for
the wine (and you) in its totality. There is a bit of a smoke note to the wine as well but
just a bit. This smoke note really adds to the wine overall and the fact
that it is on the light side is a good thing. I am also picking up a sweet and juicy
cherry note here as well however that "sweet" is ultra well controlled by the
rest of the wine, only allowing enough of it to come forward as
needed. A hint of darkness is expressed here also and it comes across
as almost a note more interested in effecting the mid-palate then
anything else but its well placed nonetheless. Effectively, that bit of darkness works its magic, not
looking to overpower any other note and being very comfortable right
where and how it is. There is a woodsy, peppery spice to the wine also which
is awesome....like....awesome. This woodsy, peppery spice appears to be another note
that finds its joy in working alongside the other notes and not trying to have the wine deviate from the path it is already walking. The slightest hint of raspberry is here also and once
again guys, it loves being right where it is which is intermixed with
everything else. If this weren't enough guys, how about a bit of dark
chocolate? Yeah, guys, it's here and it's (again) good. I am not
talking about a dark chocolate that wants to take control, no way this
dark chocolate is content on coming in on the mid-palate and seems focused on being
present just enough to have you notice it is there without needing to be front stage.
Acidity to the wine is
slightly bracing but nothing that will have you sitting back in your
chair. This acidity is showing that there is certainly a good possibility that the
wine has some aging potential. Another factor and one which can reflect the
wines ability to age as well is that of tannins. In this wine, tannins are ever so
slightly more then on the dusty side but show no signs of
being ready to weaken. I
would like to say that I have indeed told you all about this wine but
every time I take a short break and come back, there is more to talk
about. How about a sense of leather in this $13 Merlot, would that
surprise you because yes, it is here and yes, it is good ? Folks, everything about this wine surprises me so I guess
this particular note being present shouldn't. Continuing on, there is a bright black cherry present here and it plays so
nicely with the rest of the wine guys. This black cherry really livens up the
palate and only compounds the fact that this Merlot is performing well above its pay grade. Closing this review out (finally) is the fact that the wine does offer up a bit of
jamminess however, this is the rare instance that
jamminess does not ruin a wine. To me, in my opinion, one of the worst
things a red wine can present is jamminess so keep that in mind when you
read my thoughts on it. The jamminess present here plays right into the hands
of everything the wine is trying to present, every hope it had since
its inception of being a very serious wine. In short, this is a serious wine. Guys, I actually could go on but
I do believe that I have said enough. I will see you in the next
paragraph.
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| Chateau Ste. Michelle Tasting Room |
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| Barrels In The Chateau Ste. Michell Tasting Room |
If you are looking for a Merlot for the backyard or to sip at the pool,
this is not that Merlot. If you are looking for a duplication of Cupcake or Barefoot, again, this is not that wine. If however, you are looking to impress your wine educated friends or guests,
pour this wine into their glass without them seeing the bottle and your
party will be the one to go to in the future. I guess the gamble I took of purchasing a
wine on clearance was worth it, the wine is a winner. Yes, there is a
bit of jamminess to the wine but in the end it just works. On The
Desert Wine Guy
rating scale I am giving this wine a cellar worthy rating of 94 points.
As I said earlier, the wine can age for another 7-8 years as it has the
right amount of both acidity and tannins to stand up nicely for at least that
long.
The Desert Wine Guy
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