Merlot Wine Reviews

I drank these 2 wines and tasted black fruit, blue fruit, bright, dark fruit, red fruit, smooth tannin, smooth tannins. The wines are small production and came from Stag’s Leap Winery Wine Club, The Gold Wine Club by Gold Medal Wine Club.

Wine reviews by: Jessyca Frederick

Block 20 Merlot

2019 Stag’s Leap Winery Block 20 Merlot

Among the three wines I tried from Stag’s Leap Winery in April, this was my favorite. I like Merlot and I’m not ashamed to say so.

Tasting notes: smooth tannins, bright, black fruit, blue fruit

Brander Merlot, Los Olivos District

2018 Brander Vineyard and Winery Brander Merlot, Los Olivos District

I really enjoyed this Merlot which we paired with my spicy Turkey Chili. Flavors of dark red fruit, soft tannins, and a medium body made it quite enjoyable.

Tasting notes: red fruit, dark fruit, smooth tannin

Notice: I hold no formal wine credentials. I am a wine geek who has consumed 1000+ of bottles from 100+ different wine clubs and 1000s more bottles that didn’t come from those wine clubs. I do not accept payment for wine reviews, and I do not accept payments to influence my opinions. I happily accept free wine (and I buy wine).

Why read my wine reviews: Wine taste is subjective. What I like may not be what you like. I try to leave room for you to form your own opinions, so I don’t provide a score or a rating. I do point out wines that are an incredible value or truly not worth the money. I note flaws, wines that don’t have typicity (because this matters if you are buying wine without having tasted it yourself), when wines are out of balance, and when wines lack appropriate body.

I don’t like wasting money (or anything for that matter). I’m careful about where I spend my money and my mindset as a reviewer is to be careful about where you spend yours. I don’t believe a high price tag equals quality and I know for sure there are wines of very good quality that are also a great value.

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