I certainly didn't expect to enjoy this bottle.  In fact, I'm a little sheepish in light of my April 12 comments regarding Merlot under ten dollars.  Still, every wine gets it's fair shake, and this one didn't fare too poorly.

Trinity Oaks is a recent, mid-premium line from Trinchero, the company best known for Sutter Home.  Far more character and depth than I expect from a Merlot in this price range.  I'd still rather be drinking Cab or Zin, but this was a pleasant surprise.

Now I really feel like I'm accomplishing something.  This is my first chance to review consecutive vintages of the same wine.  On Dec. 27 of  last year I reviewed the 99 Fume.  I think I like this one more.  The 99 was a little too tart, but this time around the balance is right on.  Smooth and rich, but without feeling like a Chard.  I baked salmon filets with dill, capers and lemon marmalade, and used a little of the wine in the pan.  A fine combination.

Still, I must say, $14 seemed like a lot for this wine I used to see for $9 two years ago.  

Cory McNinch has struck again.  Back on Jan. 8, I reviewed Tudal's Tractor Shed Red, a fun bottle indeed.  Well, Cory just returned from a trip to San Fran, including a day in Napa, and brought back a bottle of this outstanding Cabernet.  Made entirely from grapes grown on the family's ten acres, this wine shows the growers devotion.  There is an intensity of flavor only possible when a single micro climate is expressed in the bottle without any dilution.

This Cab was slow to open, and there wasn't much to taste until it had been in the glass half an hour.  From from that point, the flavor exploded.  Surprisingly smooth, not at all a rough texture.  Must have seen a lot of time in wood?  Now I'm just dieing to visit the place myself, and to try the Reserve Cabernet too.

There are a lot of novelty wines out there, and most of them suck.  One of the worst things I ever put in my mouth was a Dallas Cowboys themed wine called Legends of the Grid Iron.  Dead Red, a Grateful Dead wine, was not much better.  I can't say enough bad things about Whoopie Goldberg's signature pink champagne.

Still, every wine has to evaluated solely on its own merits, and the 1994 Graceland is a great bottle of wine.  I mean, come on, it's a 94 Napa Cab, for heaven's sake; the year Napa could do no wrong; the year when every red was a huge red.  This is a real, big, complicated wine.  Julie and I enjoyed it sip by sip over several hours, and it just got better and better.  Fragrant and powerful, with subtle hints and surprises.  Solid, but notable soft.  A huge wine.  When Julie offered me the last few drops, I could only say "Thank ya, Thank ya very much."

(Mom, if you ever read this, sorry...)  Let me be perfectly clear about this: there is not a thing wrong with Meridian Merlot.  It is a perfect example of CA Merlot under $10.  Velvet soft, fruity, smooth, intensely boring.  Easy to drink.  Oh yes, my friend, oh so very easy to drink.  Harry Potter is easy to read, that doesn't make it great literature.  I guess that will probably upset some people too.

(hey, I'm a wine snob.  Duh!  That's why I have a wine web site.)

I enjoy the German and Alsatian off-dry and semi-sweet whites.  They're great for picnics an turkey leftovers and warm spring afternoons.  Sure, they're sweet and fruity; but there's more to them than just the honey.  There's also a complexity of pungent aromas, mineral flavors and lingering texture.  Rosemont got the sweetness just fine (oh boy, did they), but there's nothing to back it up.  It's like a copy of a famous painting; you can see the similarity, but there's something missing.  For the genuine flavor try the Hugel Gentil I reviewed on Feb. 21.