These reviews often contain colorful commentary. This is meant to be tongue in cheek good fun. No review here implies or suggests there is a real health hazard with a product.
But to the wine -- This 1997 Merlot is a product of Turning Leaf and like all Merlot champions, boasts of oak, fruit, red meat compatibility and even plums. Forget that. This wine stands apart from other Merlot offerings in that it is actually mellow to the palate, dances lightly on the tongue, and prances in leaderhosen in the belly. I have taken it with mutton and fowl, pasta and vegan without qualm or issue. Whereas many wines of this region are best when served with pepperoni sticks or corndogs, this sultry red begs to be carried to the bedroom for deserts therein.
Normally I am a harsh critic of any red that pours forth from the southleft coast but I have to give this one three thumbs up for clarity, nose, frontal lobe refraction, after taste, and it has a very cool label.
Turning Leaf
California Merlot, 1997
Modesto, CA (Just a short putt from Hollister)
This is a complex varietal - in the glass it glistens as would Marvel Mystery Oil and it performs a jack-booted march more so than does it glide over the palate, leaving a late taste sensation not unlike a chip of dry ice may. Any hint of fruit is purely cosmetic, possibly even unintentional, and the container is seductively cursed with a rubbery stopper that challenges the best of the Oenologist's Cellar's de-corking collection. Odd if served with red meats, it truly comes into it's own with fried pork rinds or dried haddock. Consider this one when late into those special festive occasions - this is a wine that screams "Go home!".
This is a crass pretender to the Merlot lineage. To the nose it appears to suggest hints of E. Coli yet still manages to find a way to insult the palate. A pretentious little red, it has the bite of a snake and the personality of a shrew. A shameful waste of oak, this is best when served with jerked beef and Doritos. Offer it hot or cold - doesn't matter.
I give it a 5 star rating. I'd buy it again.
To the wine: Often with Merlot and Chianti wines and other reds, that first pull is too often a bit sharp. I had a Baron Phillipe de Rothchild Merlot last week that was a pleasant exception being smooth at once and remaining till the last of it. So it is with this label. Enjoyable immediately, no hint of chemistry sulphites bring to modern wines, and well suited with chili which I just happened to have made up tonight. For those who critique the entire experience, the clarity is sub-par but not objectionably so, and to the nose it is unremarkable. These characteristics contribute to a nice surprise for the palate.
Under $10.00 US, recommendable. 12.5% Alc. Shiraz wines are showing up in greater numbers - this vintner one will stay on my list.
To life.
Tonight we are serving a Chardonnay produced by Gold Digger's Cellars, located in Oroville, Washington. That just happens to be the birth place of my wife and is the garden spot of the world where we've chosen to spend eternity together. It is a beautiful place with great broad valleys, ancient lava flows, cold clear streams that feed necklaces of lakes and rivers; it is a source of tranquility that soothes the heart and sole, should you find yourself with time to visit.
But let's now talk about the wine. You all know that the labels on wine bottles raise high acclaim for the product, ranging from berry flavors to a finish that lasts into the next day. Let me give you my full experience.
From a properly foiled neck, a true cork is pulled away and immediately following the pop there is the fresh fragrance of fruit permeating the air. Clear as cold mountain meltwater, the wine swirls easily into a wide, long-stem glass - wide to better capture the nose. My friends, you can sense the months of sunshine that went into the grapes. The first taste is grand - absolutely ph neutral to this tongue, the barrel's woody flavor lingers. Neither dry nor off-dry, this is an excellent, excellent dinner wine. Extended finish is suggested and it is unabashedly true. This wine is oh so easy to recommend.
There is an interesting story of winemaking here as well. Oroville is on the Canadian border at the very north end of the US portion of the Okanogan Valley. It is here that US 97 becomes Canada 97.
This is apple country - or at least it was. The orchards are failing to pressure from overseas apple producers and so many thousands of acres of trees have been pulled up and burned. One day you are going to wish for a Red Delicious apple and find nothing but Fuji's.
In some cases soft fruit has taken over - peaches, plumbs, apricots. And now grapes. This is a story of hard working Okanogan Valley farming families plowing under everything they own to take a chance on grapes and fine wines - in this one they have a winner. And this is just the first year's production run.
How new are they? Well, Gold Digger's Cellars website is not even under construction yet! Visit http://GoldDiggerCellars.com where someday you may learn more, but for now try to locate this label - I guarantee you're going to enjoy it.
Chardonnay v. 2000 (Alc. 13.5%)
Gold Digger's Cellars
Oroville, Washington State
Contact your wine merchant and request they get you a bottle or two. If you get in touch with the vintner tell them I sent you.
dp