Chateau Haut Corbin , 2001 Saint Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux $30

Kendall-Jackson , 2003, Merlot Grand Reserve, Sonoma & Napa $30

V. Sattui , 2004 Merlot, Los Carneros, Napa $30

Rated an 87 by Wine Spectator

Gold, Monterey Wine Competition

Silver, Finger Lakes Wine Competition

This was a very complex wine that left little doubt it was not from California. The nose was big on such non-fruit characters as allspice, tea, licorice, cigar, coffee, earth and just a bit of muskiness. The palate, however, allowed the red and black fruit to come through with a strong finish of tart red fruit, cocoa, molasses and burnt oak. The depth of fruit was bit of a surprise from the nose.

Another very complex wine that had a great balance of blackberry and black cherry, black pepper, cloves, an attractive smokiness and a little touch of minerality. The palate brought the fruit to the forefront, starting with the black fruit from the nose that moved into tart red fruit with chocolate in the finish. There was even a bit of butterscotch late in the finish.

The Sattui Merlot was fruit forward with some good blueberry, blackberry and casis in the nose. There was some definite cinnamon, white pepper and licorice, vanilla in the non-fruit category, with many tasters getting leather, pine and a bit of smoke. The palate was not as complex as the nose, with good red fruit and vanilla prominent.

The tannins were beautifully refined that gave the feel of satin on the palate.

The wine had a medium plus body with good, but not harsh tannins.

This had a really nice satin mouthfeel with just a bit of dusty tannins.

13%

14.5%

14.5%

This was an extremely complex wine with a great depth of earth based flavors with balanced beautifully with the fruit. There was a definite masculine muskiness that worked incredibly well with the baking spices and licorice, and, of course, the cigar smoke aromas.

An extremely complex wine with a combination of multiple types of black and red fruit. What started as black ripe fruit in the attack moved to tart red fruit in the finish. The same was true of the chocolate that moved into cocoa; and the spices ranged from baking to pepper.

The wine was intriguing in that the nose was more complicated than the palate. The red fruit took on just the slightest hint of candy, but the cooking spice and vanilla came through with just a hint of smoky pine that added to the overall finish immensely.

This was a wonderful wine, but if you only like big, fruit forward California style wines, this is not for you. It had just a bit of bitterness that was not out of place, good acidity and soft, refined tannins balanced nicely with the alcohol and fruit. The slight earthy, masculine characters made the wine intriguing and kept your interest through the very long finish.

This was a very nice wine that had the ability to morph itself as it opened up. There was not much fruit in the nose, but it became very fruit forward on the palate. The non-fruit characters helped to keep that fruit in balance with the alcohol, acid and tannins. This wine had little bitterness and a very long, concentrated finish that continually changed long after the liquid was gone.

This wine is a great drinker with a good amount of acidity along with wonderful bold flavors. There is little doubt that this was a wine from California and was a big hit with many of the tasters. The flavors were well balanced, the alcohol was evident, but not hot and the tannins gave structure without harshness.