The theme for this month’s event is provided by Derrick at An Obsession with Food who asks us to Judge a Bottle By Its Cover. Basically, he just asked us to pick up a bottle only selected by its label art and not any other factor such as producer, reputation, vintage or critic review. I thought it would also be interesting to pick up only wines from producers I am unfamiliar with.

So I went to the wine store and found my first selection right away from Nova Wines the producer of the famous Marilyn Merlot, the 2005 Norma Jeane Merlot. The label is a stunning shot of the young Norma Jeane Baker in a bikini sitting on a large flower. It certainly commands attention alongside more modest labels. It’s a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Syrah from the Tallerico Vineyard in French Camp, California. Here are my tasting notes:

Nova Wines, “Norma Jeane”, Merlot 2005 ($10.50) - Clear ruby in color with explosive wild cherry and papaya aromas; simple wild cherry flavors with a hint of the tropical fruit on the finish. Quite quaffable, but not up to the latest crop of Beaujolais Nouveau tasted on my last podcast. Tasted at cellar temperature, but a bit better slightly chilled. Scores - Label: 10/10; Wine: 7.5/10

My second wine stood out from the rest on the shelf for it’s minimalist typography and 3-dot esthetic. This wine is an Eric Soloman Selection, who seems to always have great typographical label art. It is from a co-op of 15 wineries and growers in Portugal’s Duoro valley and is a blend of old vines fruit from all 15 producers. Being a typographer from the pre-computer days, I really appreciate the clean use of sans-serif font and white space; a very elegant label that attracted my attention.

Lavradores de Feitoria, “Tres Bagos�, Duoro, Portugal 2002 ($16) - Deep ruby color with aromas of blackberry, earth and spices; nicely concentrated blackberry fruit and black pepper flavors with dusty tannins and high acidity. Another very good food wine and one of the best table wines from Portugal I have tried. Scores - Label: 9.5/10; Wine: 8.5/10

So both wines take an honor this time; for best label art, Norma Jeane Merlot 2005 and the best tasting wine is the Lavradores de Feitoria, “Tres Bagos� 2002.

Thanks again to Derrick for the theme and I’ll see you all next month.

Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639)
Copyright 2005 Tim Elliott. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Direct mp3 Download
Direct wma Download
Direct aac Download (enhanced for iPod)

 

 Standard Podcast [12:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

HRM Rex-Goliath, “Giant 47 Pound Rooster�, Merlot NV ($7) - Very dark ruby with quite a bit of cedar aromas from the oak to go with the black cherry fruit; hot black cherry and plum flavors with less oak than expected from the aromas. A good value, but not up to the quality of the Pinot Noir. Score: 7.5/10

Bodegas Javier Asensio, Crianza, Navarra, Spain 2000 ($17) - Garnet in color with an aromatic plum, spice and eucalyptus nose; nicely concentrated and forward dark fruit flavors with some mint and dusty tannins; excellent balance of fruit and tannin. Needs to breathe for a while to show it’s best, but a very good wine made from 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 20% Tempranillo. A producer to watch for unique and complex wines at bargain prices. Score: 8.5/10

Domaine Carneros, “Avant-Garde”, Merlot 2002 ($27) - Dark ruby in color with eucalyptus and pepper aromas, bold blackberry flavors are obscured by hard tannins right now but seems balanced enough to come together in a couple of years. Very good. Only available at the winery or online. Score: 8.5/10

This weekend’s podcast is focused on the, “Big 3 Reds”: Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon presented in the “virtual tasting” format. I also try to match wine to a St. Patrick’s Day menu of corned beef and cabbage and announce a Minnesota wine tasting meetup on June 11th.

Wines tasted:

- Meridian Vineyards, Central Coast, Pinot Noir 2003 ($9)
- Columbia Crest, “Grand Estates”, Merlot 2001 ($12)
- Clos du Val, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 ($25)

Direct mp3 Download

Today’s show is focused on the great grape of Bordeaux: Merlot. I also begin my basic wine tasting series and share some listener comments.

Wines tasted:

- Robert Hall, Paso Robles Merlot 2001 ($18)
- Simi, Sonoma County Merlot 2001 ($16)
- Markham Vineyards, Napa Valley Merlot 2001 ($22.50)

Direct mp3 Download
Technorati Tag