2009 Velvet Devil Merlot

This goes for about $12 retail and as you can see, is a rather eye catching label.

Straight up dark chocolate on the nose - usually I see chocolate covered something or another, but this is just chocolate.

More chocolate on the palate, but some cherry notes come through as well. Big, fruity, a touch sweet, not much for tannins, reasonable enough acid, but overall quite jammy.

Some more interesting things come through on the finish - more chocolate and cherry, but blueberry presents itself as well as some vanilla.

A gateway wine for the Yellow Tail lover in your life. If you're having a big party, this is worth serving, pair it with ribs or burgers and you're good to go - jammy and quaffable, but there's something in the background that tells you there's more than meets the eye.

Score: 85

2006 Marilyn Merlot

This retails for around $27, though if you go to their website it's selling for a whopping forty bucks a bottle.

Fresh green spices, black licorice, cedar, and cherry on the nose.

Black cherry, mint, menthol, cedar, fresh green spice - vaguely cough syrup like. A bit thicker in body, very gentle tannins, just a touch of sweetness, but really quite balanced.

Brown spices, a bit of fresh red bell pepper, and a dash of menthol on the finish.

For a 'gimmick' wine this is pretty good. For a $40 wine, it's not. If I found this for under $20, I could see snagging another bottle.

Score: 87

2007 Domaine Charvin Vin de Pays de la Principauté d'Orange à côté

It really does need to be repeated - put your young red wines in some sort of decanter for at least an hour before drinking. This wine was extremely tight for the first ninety minutes or so and really didn't come together until hour three. Eleven bucks at Binny's - many places online have it for fifteen - I snagged a bottle on a whim thanks to a Parker 90 point rave.

The nose has something kind of strange, almost a buffalo wing sauce quality comes through on the nose - spice as in hot pepper spice. There's also a cherry candy - red Starburst - thing.

Cherry and strawberry candy, generic sort of red fruit, with a dash of black pepper, menthol, and a bit of cigar, all with a slightly medicinal back palate. This is fairly light in body - when I think of medicinal wine, I think heavy and viscous, not so much here, which makes what can be perceived as a flaw into an interesting quirky quality.

More of that medicinal, menthol, minty, and cherry thing linger on the finish.

This was apparently aged for eighteen months in concrete - I'm not sure I've encountered a wine not aged in either steel or oak. Concrete...fascinating... Personally, I'd sit on this wine for another year or so before opening. I'm less thrilled than Parker, but considering the eleven dollar price tag, I also can't bash it.

Score: 85

2007 Two Lads Merlot Old Mission Peninsula

The wines from Two Lads not only deserve, but I think sort of need, some time in the decanter before drinking. Yeah, I know, every young red should be aerated a bit, but these wines really come alive after around four or five hours of air exposure.

Cassis, cherry, mint, and peach are present on the nose.

Very nicely balanced - cherry, cola, eucalyptus, sassafras, strawberry, raspberry - fruity, spicy, with more than a spoonful of dirt. After it's opened an interesting stone fruit is coming through on the back palate - almost like a drop of nectarine juice got mixed in - it's stone fruit and it's not plum. As it opens a mild chocolate component comes through.

The finish.....remember when you used to bite the ends off of Twizzlers and then drink a Coke with it? Then, when the Coke is done, you eat the Twizzler and a fair amount of the candy flavor has faded and some of the Coke qualities have been absorbed? Imagine that used Twizzler put into a chocolate phosphate - take a sip and take a bite of the candy. There ya go.

I'm not sure how "varietal correct" this is - as a Merlot, I don't know if I'd expect what this wine delivered. As a wine, however, it's interesting and quite complex. At $35, this is a 'special occasion' pricing and would hardly be a disappointment.

Wine: 9
Value: Yep

2004 Lynfred Winery Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

We had a glass of this at the winery and a spot in the corner to take formal notes. The bottle goes for $35, but you can get a glass for $10 (a bit pricey considering a bottle should get five glasses, but it's cool they make the higher end stuff available to try). Two other minor issues - the glass was a bit too small for the pour (or the pour too big for the glass) and this was served hella cold. Hella cold. Ten minutes in the hand and it was fine, but yikes.

A very nice, pronounced nose with anise, cherry, and cedar.

An excellent balance of fruit, acid, earth, and tannin - none of the above dominate, but all contribute nicely. Cherry, red apple liqueur, licorice, earth, and cocoa all come through strongly. This is the kind of bottle that you could certainly crack open and see how it changes over a few hours.

Eucalyptus, black pepper, and dark red apple - I'm not sure I've ever gotten apple notes from a red, but here we are. It's different, but it works.

A fine offering, though a bit on the expensive side. My advice would be to do a tasting and see if something cheaper strikes your fancy, but I'd certainly not be disappointed if this were handed to me as a gift.

Wine: 8
Value: Pass

2007 Mollydooker Two Left Feet

Perhaps the most polarizing wines on the planet - at least in the under $30 range - the Mollydooker offerings are gigantic, explosive, some may say stupid, fruit bombs from down under. They generally get good marks from Parker, but it's not uncommon for others to rate them in the 70s.

A powerful nose with super ripe plums and less heat than I expected.

Plum - perhaps more prune - blackberry, ultra ripe blueberry, a bit of maple syrup even, all with vanilla extract - almost like some sort of vanilla liqueur, and eve n some of those farmer's market strawberries that are just on the edge of going bad, they're a tad dark, a bit squishy, and you're not sure whether or not you should eat them, but they weren't cheap and you don't feel like you're going to throw up after eating a couple, so you keep eating them.



It's a style for a certain palate. We own a fair amount of Mollydooker and to be honest, if I'm not in the mood for this style, I feel a tad nauseous even thinking about it. Every few months we'll pop open a bottle, dig it, but finish the bottle more than happy to not open another bottle until six months have passed.

That being said, when I am in the mood, and drinking this with something like ribs, steak with some sort of huge sauce, perhaps even a pasta dish with six types of cheese and three types of sausage, it holds it own and doesn't really overpower.

Wine: 8.5
Value: I think so, but proceed with caution

Yellow Tail Round Up

The economy sucks, the wine fridge is getting empty, and when the local grocery store had a sale – Yellow Tail, $4.15 each when you buy six bottles of booze – I couldn't pass it up buying five and a bottle of bourbon (you can mix and match). I also realized that we really haven't gone over much Yellow Tail on here – some aren't terrible (Riesling), some are atrocious (Sparklng), and some are damn good (Reserve Shiraz) – so I enjoy the opportunity to go through the five red wines I've seen in this market for just over $20.

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2008 Merlot

A jammy and somewhat funky nose.

Cherry, blueberry, a nice amount of acid, dare I say some tannins are present, as well as a bit of oak. Some nice vanilla is coming through, even some spice, and what the hell – a bit of coffee? I expected fruit bomb jammy nonsense – instead I got something that certainly qualifies as fruity, but is by no means at a W level of stupidity.

The finish drops off almost immediately.

It's Wednesday night, you're feeling cheap and eating pizza or chicken tetrazzini or burgers (though that's more of a weekend thing, Ray) or whatever sort of stew you may be eating, this isn't half bad.

Wine: 6.5
Value: Yes

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2008 Cabernet Sauvignon

I'm not convinced this has a nose.

This is an oddball. If you just drink it, you'd think it's totally blah – almost watery. Keep it on the palate, as nerds like me do, and you get some life – vanilla and cherry...all sorts of cherry. Not much tannin, but enough acid to work it out to an acceptable level.

A nice finish – short – but acid and fruit balance nicely.

Two for two so far – this ain't bad at all, and for the price it's groin grabbingly fine.

Wine: 6
Value: Sure

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2008 Yellow Tail Shiraz

The flagship of the Yellow Tail brand. Let's see how this holds up for four bones.

Some plummy notes on the nose.

Hmmm. Blackberry and peach, reasonably acidic, but no tannins to speak of.

The finish here is amusing. I'd actually say this wine – or this bottle at least – is perfect for describing a finish. Swallow a glass, for five seconds there's something – maybe some pepper, maybe some blackberry – and at the four second mark you literally feel it disappear, like water going down a drain.

It's official – I won't turn my nose up at it, but I won't be buying it again.

Wine: 5
Value: Pass

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2007 Shiraz Grenache

Basically, I get chocolate on the nose.

Probably the worst of the batch. A distinct cough medicine taste – somewhere along the lines of blue raspberry. I can't say I'm getting much else, this is simply not good.

Plenty of menthol on the finish.

No sir – big time pass. I'll have a glass with my frozen pizza dinner, but the rest is going down the drain.

Wine: 3
Value: Nope

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2007 Cabernet Sauvignon- Merlot blend
A weak nose that I can only describe as somewhat earthy.

I don't know about this one. An almost prune – but not in a good Port of way – quality comes through with some mint. As the bottle opens all I really get it cherry cough syrup with a bit of acid and added sugar.

I guess Yellow Tail doesn't do well with blends. Considering the stand alone Cab and stand alone Merlot are the best of the label, this one is probably the biggest disappointment.

Wine – 3.5
Value – No

2007 Mollydooker The Scooter Merlot

Alrighty, Mollydooker's Merlot offering. It's freezing out, so a gigantic, alcohol fueled wine seemed like it would fit the bill – the going rate for this one is about $25.

A big fat nose – almost like a blueberry infused brandy. Giant alcohol, black fruit, and licorice.

A big fat palate – blackberry, big fuzzy tannins, almost a cough syrup like quality – just gigantic and somewhat dumb, there is a fortified sort of quality, just a big alcoholic burn. Unpleasant on a warm day, but sitting in a drafty apartment when it's literally ten below zero – it does hit the spot nicely. This is the sort of bottle you'll want to let open for several hours – some nice oak and vanilla notes come through after a few hours,

A big fat finish – cinnamon, clove, and an array of miscellaneous dried green spices all with loads of Twizzlers.

I liked The Boxer a lot – I don't mind over the top wines, but there's a fine line between huge and ridiculous. I can't say this one works for me.

Wine: 6
Value: No

2005 Columbia Crest Merlot Grand Estates

We had the 2004 and enjoyed it, so why not grab the 2005 at a lousy stinking seven dollars....especially with the economy in the toilet, a cheap find is always welcome.

Cherry, vanilla, and oak on the nose.

A bit of everything really, all in harmony. A dash of fruit – plums and blackberries - a pinch of acid, a hint of spice, a dollop of vanilla, and a suggestion of oak.

Some spices really come through – dried Italian spices with a slight bit of anise and menthol as well.

Day two brings more of the same though the nose is more muted and the there's quite a bit more in terms of spice on the palate and finish.

This is a no-brainer.

Wine: 7.5
QPR: 10

2005 Sophia Slavyantsi Merlot

Six bucks and from Bulgaria – seeing as I don't think I've had Bulgarian wine it seemed like an obvious one to snag.

Virtually no nose other than some very very very light eucalyptus – sorta like the wrapper of a cough drop.

A simple, easy drinking wine – tart cherry, very light in body, enough acid to give this an excellent balance, but little to think about.

Some tart cherry fades quickly on the finish.

Overall it's an enjoyable, easy drinking wine – fine for burgers or pizza – some people would call this a “patio wine” - whatever you call it, it's enjoyable and certainly a fine value at seven dollars.

Wine: 6
QPR: 7

2004 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot

I know this wine frequently gets big points and realized we have never tried it – for $7 I'm game....especially with the good luck from The Little Penguin's Cabernet and Yellow Tail's Reserve Shiraz.

Cherry, earth, and cigar box on the nose.

Cherry pie filling, peach, spice, tobacco, earth, cedar, and a bit of mocha on the palate. A nice balance – a slight bit of sweetness, but the wood, and a nice zing of acid really balance this out.

A fuzzy, oaky, cigar like finish lingers for a while.

I tend to go into highly rated cheap wines with very hesitant optimism, but man – this is beyond solid and a phenomenal bargain at seven bucks. I asked Fran what she thought this one cost – she's got a talent for guessing within a few dollars – she estimated upper teens to $20. I plan on grabbing a few of these next time I'm out to keep on hand.

2001 Cullen Diana Madeline Margaret River

Another bargain for us – this one is typically $50, but we were at a wine shop's 10^th anniversary tasting and they had this one deeply discounted to a mere $25 – we tried it, we loved it, we bought the last bottle and sat on it for over a year. We drank this one with a grilled steak.

Tobacco, cherry, and blueberry on the nose.

So smooth – the tannins are mellow, cherry, tobacco, oak, a bit of licorice, a touch of dirt – everything is in perfect balance, no taste overwhelms. As it opens, some black fruit comes through – blackberry, plum, perhaps even some prune.

The finish lingers for some time, tannins come through, oak and just a slightest bit of pine creeps in, along with tobacco and a bit of blackberry.

Outstanding for $25 and certainly good enough for the $50 the shop normally charges. If this weren't the last bottle they had, I would've cheerfully grabbed a few more.

2004 Ditka's Da Coach Merlot

I found this one for $9 and figured since Ditka's Pinot Grigio wasn't that bad, perhaps this would be worth a shot.

Cherry, but mainly black pepper on the nose.

The palate is mainly cherry, a bit of blackberry, some pepper, and spice and a nice zing of acid. If this is not the lightest bodied Merlot we've had, it's certainly up there – it's almost more of a Pinot Noir body.

There's really not much in the finish other than lingering tannin and just a bit of cherry.

Ditka's wines are shockingly good, no offense to da coach. This is a solid, smooth wine – nothing complicated, but for $9 it works well.

2005 Fetzer Valley Oaks Merlot

We recently went to a wine fest and Fetzer had a booth promoting all the environmentally friendly aspects of the winery – using biodiesel, solar power, etc. Being a fan of that sort of thing – and a fan of Fetzer's Gewurz – I felt persuaded to pick up some other varietals and see how they hold up.

The palate has a bit of spice and a whole lot of berry and plum. With only mild tannins, a tiny hint of oak, and a bit of sweetness, I'd be tempted to call it a fruit bomb.

No real finish except for raspberry and perhaps a hint of a chocolate and spice – dare I say, mole?

I paid $6 for this and I pretty much got what I expected – a thoroughly drinkable red that's a bit too sweet on its own, but set me up with a bottle of this and a slice of pizza and I'll be content.

2005 Mollydooker Two Left Feet

Late one evening, I saw this bottle of wine at a local wine shop but knew nothing about it - the label jumped out at me, but I figured “eh, I’ll jot down the name and come back in a few days after I find some reviews.” I tend to avoid picking up random bottles if it’s over $10 - this one was $20.

Every review I found was a rave, so I went back to the shop on my lunch the following day - sold out! They had maybe 20 cases, and between 8:30 one night and 1 pm the next day, they sold it out. While browsing at another wine shop a few weeks later, I found it again and snatched it up. Poking around online, you can find this ranging from $30 to $50.

Does it live up the hype?

The nose stings with alcohol but otherwise is somewhat muted.

Deliciously complex - oak, tobacco, black pepper, blackberry, cherry, anise, plum (prune?), vanilla, and coffee. Booming, New World fruit bomb, I didn’t even bother trying to pair it - maybe with some sort of red meat, but we just slowly enjoyed it over the course of an evening.

The finish brings out some blackberry jam, oak, some dried fruit, chocolate, and a bit of alcohol burn.

I hate to give into the hype, but goddamn this is a good bottle of wine. If you find it, grab it.

2004 Cellar No. 8 Merlot

The other day I was in the wine shop and realized we really haven’t touched much Merlot, I saw this bottle and recall buying a wine from this label before...I’m not sure which varietal, but I do recall enjoying it so I figured I’d give it a shot. I paid $11 for this one.

Black fruit on the nose, plums mainly, with a touch of oak.

I’m getting a bit of blackberry, cherry, chocolate, and tannins that are certainly present with some backbone, but nice and smooth. I also taste a bit of spice...I’m thinking anise and basil specifically. It’s not terribly complex but it’s well balanced and drinks easily with and without food.

The finish is mainly oak, cherry, and chocolate....the chocolate lingers for quite a long time.

At $11, this is a steal. Strongly recommended and one I’d happily serve to guests.

2004 Mount Pleasant Merlot

This is our final Mount Pleasant Winery review for the near future. The prices of their red wine are way too high for the quality and this ultimately made me decide to quit their wine club. I have no problem dropping $30 (this one’s retail price) or even double that for a bottle of wine, but when we’re in that price range, I expect a wine to be truly excellent.

Oak, anise, and black fruit in the nose.

The palate has lots of wood–oak, tobacco, smoke, with some ripe black fruit–plums, blackberry, even a hint of strawberry. While it’s dry and tannic, it’s still medium bodied so it’s fairly easy to pair with whatever you’re eating.

The finish is all wood, with some licorice, and perhaps, just maybe a touch of raspberry. Very tannic. Even after being open for a full 24 hours, it’s still firm...maybe it needs some more time in the bottle.

Overall, here’s a wine that isn’t half bad at all...but the cold reality, especially at my age (20s), is that price matters a tremendous deal.

For $10 I’d buy it again, for $15 I’d recommend it, for $19 I’d say it’s good but somewhat overpriced though overall recommended. $30? I just can’t. Yes, it’s a smaller winery, it’s Missouri fruit, and it’s a nice place to visit....but this just doesn’t cut it.

Next time we go to St. Louis we will not hesitate visiting the winery, we’ll do a tasting, we’ll even buy a case, and perhaps, in the spur of the moment, I’ll buy one of their $30 bottles....and when I open that bottle months later I’ll remember a nice afternoon in Missouri wine country and we’ll enjoy it...but with no sentimentality attached, this is nothing more than a “good wine” that’s being sold at a “great wine” price.

2004 Charles Shaw Merlot

The (in)famous Two Buck Chuck. We had Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon a few months ago and it was terrible...I didn’t make notes back then so I can’t tell you why we didn’t like it, but I can tell you we dumped the bottle, I figured we may have better luck with Merlot.

Fran's first thoughts are spice and cherries, and feels though it’s fruity there's enough oak to make it somewhat balanced. Not exceptional, but not great.

On the nose, I get cinnamon and tart cherries. I find it’s a bit sweet and fruity, but there is oak and a bit of tannins as well.

Over the course of the evening, something odd happened. The wine soured. I don't mean, we stopped enjoying it, I mean the more time it saw in the decanter the more that tart cherry turned to pure sour. I've never had a wine go from drinkable to "I have to pour this out" in a matter of three hours, but it did.

Bottom line: it’s $3 and it tastes like $3. It’s not bad at first, but the sharp drop in quality after a couple hours is disturbing. Since it’s so cheap I think a lot of people really overlook all the problems with it--I mean, it's sour. If I was having company, I would not even consider serving this. I'd hate for a friend who's not into wine try this and never want to partake again.

2005 Norma Jeane Merlot

A while back we were at a wine tasting and I asked one of the guys working if the Marilyn Merlot was any good. He thought about it and said "you know, the Marilyn Merlot is actually pretty good, but I'd stay away from the Norma Jeane if I were you."

I present with you...Norma Jeane, 2005 Merlot. Marilyn costs around $25 a bottle, this is their lower priced label and will run you about $10.

The first impression isn't good. A punch of strawberry and a very hard bite. This is from the bottle to the glass with a bit of swirling. I decided to pour our glasses and the rest of the bottle into our decanter to aerate it a bit and see what happens.

After 20 minutes in the decanter this wine softened up a lot...it went from "damn, that's harsh" to "damn, this isn't good" but for a variety of other reasons.

On the nose, all I get is strawberries. Fran claims to smell formaldehyde. I never know if she's kidding.

The wine is very light purple...it's one of the lighter wines we've had in some time. In fact, it looks like a Beaujolais.

As far as how it tastes, not surprisingly by the color, it's like a Beaujolais. There doesn't seem to be any wood--there's a bite, but this is 20% syrah which is probably where it comes from. It tastes pretty much like strawberries, maybe some cherries, and not a whole lot else. It's fruity, a bit sweetness, a hint of spice, and overall it's just very light. This is absolutely not your standard Merlot, if you poured me a glass blind and asked what it is I'd say Beaujolais. .

The bottom line? The folks at your local wine shop generally know what they're talking about. The wine isn't great, but the label gets 100 points.