Merlot Me, Maybe

“Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy,

so here’s my number, Merlot me maybe.”

Okay, so you might be now singing that pop song in your head. Sorry about that. Anyway…October is the self proclaimed Merlot Month. Really? Does a wine need 30 days in which to prove itself? Ah…with Merlot, yes it does. Merlot has been maligned ever since the film Sideways unapologetically voiced the main character’s opinion, “I’m not drinking any fucking Merlot!” Ouch. It’s not that Merlot was a crappy grape, but that in California, back then in the early 2000s, it was overplanted creating not only glut, but lousy grapes. I love Merlot. Truly, there are some terrific examples, including Lava Cap (Sierra Foothills), and Robert Hall (Paso Robles) and a host of others. So, may I present a Merlot sampler - a range of wines worth considering this month of October that might reinvigorate your red wine consumption. At the very least, try a new Merlot, even one not on this list.

From Sonoma is the inexpensive 2014 Cannonball SonomaCounty Merlot ($14.99), a nifty little number that is a great entry Merlot for those who like more ripe frit and fewer tannins and change in your pocket. It offers rich jammy boysenberry, black berry, a little black cherry and huckleberry, a sweet oak and a pleasant personality - easy to drink, easy to love, easy on the 401k.

Moving up the scale is Peju’s 2013 Napa Valley Merlot ($38), from a certified organic vineyard in the Rutherford area of Napa, which offers more acidity, tighter tannins and more subtle fruit with notes of blackberry, boysenberry, dark plumb and raspberry, hints of sweet cedar and black cherry.

Then we come to the Duckhorn 2013 Napa Valley Merlot ($54) which is the gold standard of Merlot in California. Routinely Duckhorn Merlots provide a tactile, sensory experience with dark fruits of blackberry, boysenberry, huckleberry, pomegranate, charred resin, seamless oak integration and a constant stream of acidity working through the wine making this ideal with food.

Creating Pedigree: Cabernet & Paso Robles

Napa lays claim to Cabernet Sauvignon like they invented it. They didn’t of course in spite of being the dominant region in the U.S. However Paso Robles is positioning itself to challenge Napa and this central California region is producing Cabernet and Bordeaux blends offering terrific value and diversity, something Napa often takes for granted.

“There is something about the Napa Valley’s unique topography, climate and growing season that is perfectly suited to Cabernet,” says Ann Colgin of Napa’s Colgin Estate, whose Cabernets sell for $300 (ouch). “While Napa Valley wines can be expensive, there is no substitute for the pedigree of fruit this region is capable of producing.” And she’s correct…to a degree. But pedigree will only take you so far, you still need to deliver the goods, at a price and perceived value the consumer will buy. Let’s be honest – average wine consumers are not buying $300 bottles of Napa Cabernet.

“If you want to know how good Paso Robles Cabernet is,” suggests Gary Eberle of Eberle Winery, “have a blind tasting of Napa Cabernet and a Paso Robles Cabernet. We may not always come out on top, but we can compete against Bordeaux and Napa first growths,” he says. But can Paso Cabernet compete in an already crowded field? “Consumers can expect wines that are approachable immediately but yet will age beautifully for years,” says Daniel Daou of Daou Vineyards, one of the founders of PRCC. “An indication of a great terroir is where ripeness can be achieved most if not all the time. In Paso Robles we achieve ripeness consistently from year to year and our wines come from soils that are calcareous, so they don't have to be acidulated,” Daou says. Is Paso Robles the ideal spot to grow Cabernet? “I looked for 10 years for the perfect place to grow Cabernet,” Daou tells me, including searching Argentina, Spain and Bordeaux. “Paso is cooler than Calistoga, we have the right soils. I believe that Paso is the ultimate appellation for growing Cabernet Sauvignon, but we need a little time to reach our potential.”

Unconvinced? Well then the Paso Robles Cabernet Collective held April 25^th - 30^th is just for you. There are winery tasting room events, the ubiquitous Grand Tasting on Saturday, April 26th, winemaker dinners, and the like. Should you go? Yes. Will Paso Robles compete against Napa for Cabernet supremacy? Well, not for a while. But having sampled some of the top Cabernet producers like Daou, L’Aventure, Justin, Eberle, Jada, Vina Robles, Halter Ranch, Robert Hall and others, there is the possibility that if Napa blinks, Paso Robles will pounce, and attending the Paso Robles Cabernet Collective’s Cabs of Distinction will give you a window into the future.

PASO ROBLES CAB COLLECTIVE 

Tasting With: Don Brady, Winemaker at Robert Hall Winery, Paso Robles

Don and the Golden Bear

Don Brady is originally from Texas, but doesn’t that explain the whole of it. I like many people from Texas and the wine scene there represented best by the Hill Country is coming of age, albeit slowly and with great challenges. Don learned winemaking there, came to California, and has been the only winemaker that Robert Hall Winery in Paso Robles has ever known. And that, my friends, is a good thing. I’ve known Don for years, and he makes terrific wine, so to spend some time at the winery tasting room and taste with him is always a welcome experience. The winery had just won a major victory at the California State Fair Wine Competition (which I was a judge at) so Don was feeling pretty damn good. And why not? Robert Hall Winery located on the Eastside of Paso Robles hammers out 60,000 cases (nearly a quarter of a million bottles) of wine mainly dedicated to Cabernet Sauvignon. 2nd is Syrah, and Rhone varieties which Paso does okay with but the Bordeaux varieties are quickly becoming their signature. “We have the heat units to get Cabernet ripe here,” Don says with his slight Texas drawl. 

Don Brady and Yours Truly

But it is Merlot, that quirky, under appreciated and weirdly mis-understood grape where Don hits a home run, year after year. And he and I share a secret love of this maligned grape, in part because Don seems to understand the soul of Merlot better than most people in California. I offer a review of his 2010 Merlot here (2010 MERLOT), and the 2011 is currently available. My cohort in wine Joe Roberts of 1 Wine Dude tasted it at my urging, and rated it a B+ and Joe knows what the hell he’s doing. Definitely put Robert Hall Winery on your short list when you visit Paso Robles.

What We Tasted Together:

~2011 Syrah ($18) is blended with a little Grenache resulting in a bacon fat, smooth mouthfeel.

~2004 Merlot (N/A) Don graciously pulls out a 2004 Merlot for me (oh yeah, baby) and it shows that Don has been attentive to Merlot for a long time. The wine, no longer available though I savored each sip, is rich with blackberry, blueberry, cedar, cocoa, vanilla and the ability to make you audibly say, “wow.” And this, to me, is where Robert Hall Winery shines “I think Robert Hall Merlot is one of the best wines we make it’s a nice counterpart to Cabernet. It can be crazy good, but the world doesn’t see it.”

~2011 Meritage ($40) Mainly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with a little Cab Franc and Petit Verdot, it’s a hefty, lush blend.  ROBERT HALL WINES