Posts Tagged merlot

Wine of the Day – Leese-Fitch Merlot

Leese-Fitch Merlot

Last night, my wine group had an event at Bogart’s again. Great wine bar by the way; definitely be sure to give it a try if you have not yet had the chance!

We did a flight of reds, and along with an Old Vine Zinfandel, Shiraz and Cashmere, I tried a Leese-Fitch Merlot (can’t remember if it was 2006 or 2007). Now, if you’ve read my blogs or we’ve chatted, you know I’m a fan of red wines — all reds. Most of the time, I’ll select a Cabernet and possibly an Old Vine Zinfandel depending on my mood. In other words, I would rarely choose Merlot for a glass, even though I do enjoy it occasionally. However, Deb at Bogart’s gave such high reviews to the Leese-Fitch, I had to try it.

I WAS AMAZED! It was fantastic! Just the right amount of tannin to give it perfect structure, and it was so smooth and fruit forward that it left me singing its praises and wanting more! This wine was sensual, with a fabulous velvety mouthfeel and deep, berry flavors with hints of cocoa. Merlot may not be my first choice in most situations, but I am definitely going to have to make a point to see if I can find this fabulous wine at a local wine store, or I’ll just keep stopping back at Bogart’s and enjoy a glass with Deb — always a good time. YUM!

Cheers to full glasses all around!

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Wine of the Day – Merlot

Wine of the Day for January 3, 2010

Merlot

Before I became a wine consultant, I tried Merlot. I thought “reds are good for you and I’ve heard that reds are so much more complex”. I realized though when I tried Merlot (or reds ) that it must be an acquired taste (like beer?), and I was right. After months of “research”, I found that I really did prefer reds and enjoyed them with and without food.

Merlot Some of the smoothest wines available come from Merlot grapes. The Merlot grape is a thinner skinned grape which accounts for some of the smoothness. The fermentation process of leaving on the skins, seeds and stems intact create the tannins, the bitter taste. With thinner skinned grapes, less skin can mean less bitterness and more fruit.

Merlot has earthy and oak aromas which come from aging in oak barrels, and common fruit aromas and flavors for Merlot are blackberry, plum and cinnamon. I love the color of most reds, and Merlot is no exception with a beautiful red with purple hue color.

Merlot is often blended with other wines to add smoothness to otherwise highly tannic wines, and is a blending grape in Bordeaux wines.

You can enjoy Merlot with your spicier or red-sauce foods, as well as aged romano cheese and dark chocolate.

You will of course aerate your Merlot via decanting, swirling, etc. Speaking of swirling, my husband and I enjoy coffee in the morning, but we have to have it with creamer, and I’m talking the “candy” creamer … International Delights Dulce le Leche or English Toffee Caramel. Well, you have to shake up the bottle to mix the contents, and my husband presented another option to me this morning. Instead of shaking the bottle because that gets the creamer on the bottle top and can get messy, he placed it on the counter and swirled it around. Sounds great to me! I love swirling … swirling my wines and now I get to swirl my coffee creamer!

Cheers to full glasses all around!

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