Merlots??? - Wine Country travel ratings and reviews

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Merlots???

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Author	Topic: Merlots???
yesilovewine Member	posted 10-01-2012 04:44 AM Hi all. The Harvest Fair results are posted at the Press Democrat website so I was checking out the list and saw that Selby and St. Francis are the Best of Class winners and BOTH are on our visit list, so I'll give them a try. D', looks like you did have a bit of luck with that Selby at dinner the other night! IP: 76.182.4.159
damombo Member	posted 09-29-2012 08:38 AM Last night, in a lovely little restaurant in lovely little New Braunfels, TX, we had a 2005 Stonestreet Merlot that was fabulous. It was rather amusing - on their wine list they had listed all of the wines with no dates! No indication anywhere as to vintage... We had visited Stonestreet a few years ago, so thought we would give it a try. The price was $45, so not too risky. Our waiter brings the bottle and I asked "What year is it?" He studied the bottle and finally found it and when he said "2005", my husband and I were both so surprised! The waiter said, "This is the last bottle, so you lucked out" I was thinking "yeah, we'll see about that!" but as it turns out, we did luck out! Just delicious and sooo smooth - nary a tannin left I checked Stonestreet's website this morning and the only Merlot I could see was a 2007 at $65. I think we may have had a serendipitous moment - which was made even more fun because our son was with us at dinner last night, and he was on the trip when we visited Stonestreet! Life's little pleasures Son and hubs are working on their project car this weekend, so I may work on the wine inventory - try to figure out what we have and where it is. Got a trip coming up! Need to figure out what we "need" and where it will go!! Cheers! IP: 96.8.187.200
Hawkeye Member	posted 09-25-2012 11:44 AM Hi Yes, I have not looked at the tour, but have bookmarked it for future reference. Thanks. -Hawkeye IP: 173.247.28.86
yesilovewine Member	posted 09-22-2012 02:29 PM I will look up Selby, thanks D'. Hi Hawkeye. yes, I now recall your having mentioned Merriam in the past and I will look at that possibility, too. Thanks. By the way, did you look at that tour option offered by Wilson? As an open note- I was looking into coastal wineries to explore on our way to Bodega Bay and found this website called westsonomacoast.com which has a surprising list of winery participants. Most of them are Chard/Pinot producers, as one ould expect given the area, and require appointments for tasting. Just a heads up for you Pinot lovers out there looking for something new to try. IP: 76.182.4.159
Hawkeye Member	posted 09-22-2012 11:19 AM I had mentioned Merriam to you one time. They are a little south of Healdsburg. -Hawkeye IP: 173.247.28.86
damombo Member	posted 09-22-2012 08:30 AM Selby is in Healdsburg. We visited in April and they were remodeling the tasting room, so we tasted in the storage room I just checked our supply, and we bought a mixed case: we have a cab, 2 chard, a merlot and the rest various zins. They do make a grenache and some others, so I think it is well worth a visit. Deerfield Ranch is in Glen Ellen. We popped in there a few years ago because we were driving by and a big sign said "ZIN SALE". We enjoyed the tasting, which was in their cave - couches and comfy chairs - and ended up joining their club. We were only in the club for a year - we decided that 10 clubs was ridiculous We are now down to a reasonable four... Anyway, Deerfield Ranch is worth a visit, too. Of course, I think every winery is worth at least one visit! THAT is the challenge... IP: 96.8.187.200
yesilovewine Member	posted 09-22-2012 07:23 AM Thanks, D'. I know I've heard of Selby before, but I thought it was in Napa. Can you tell me about it?...and the wine? And Deerfield Ranch...isn't that one of your "new" finds from a recent trip? IP: 76.182.4.159
damombo Member	posted 09-21-2012 08:01 PM Selby, Deerfield Ranch, Dutcher Crossing and Stryker are all Sonoma IP: 96.8.187.200
yesilovewine Member	posted 09-21-2012 07:49 PM Thanks RC, I will certainly speak up if we find a good one ( or two..) I'm having a tough time with this varietal for this trip...will try to visit Trecini ( as we LOVED theirs a couple years ago) and hope that we will find something lovely at the Harvest Fair Grand Tasting. Merlot isn't one of our usual favorites, but sometimes it just seems like the "right" choice, ya know? [This message has been edited by yesilovewine (edited 09-21-2012).] IP: 76.182.4.159
RC456 Member	posted 09-21-2012 04:34 PM yesilovewine, On our May trip, I tried several Merlots and didn't buy a one. All were in Sonoma. Was very disappointed. This week we got in Cakebread 2009 Merlot in our shipment......we are white club members, but had them send me reds this time because I couldn't find a Merlot during May's trip & I wanted their Dancing Bear Ranch Cab. We have had Cakebread Merlots in the past and have not been disappointed. If you find a good Merlot on your trip, let me know. RC IP: 99.18.69.239
yesilovewine Member	posted 09-21-2012 11:02 AM Thanks, D'. Most of yours are Napa's right? But is that Deerfield as in Deerfield Ranch in Sonoma Valley? IP: 76.182.4.159
damombo Member	posted 09-21-2012 08:33 AM I am procrastinating by being here - so I guess that makes me lazy, too... so much painting needs to be done, but this is more fun We don't generally seek out Merlot, since we are usually hunting for Cabs and Zins. My brother and sis-in-law prefer Merlot (it doesn't disturb her stomach) so when we come across one we like, we pick it up. Here are the ones I see we have currently, so we obviously approved of them: '07 Barlow and '07 Barnett, '06 & '08 Cakebread, '07 Deerfield and '07 Stryker (Rockpile, btw), '02, '03, '07 Schweiger, '08 Dutcher Crossing, Selby and Madrigal. We visited Selby in Healdsburg because we had tried a bottle at dinner in Sonoma - it was worth the visit. Cheers! Now I guess I'll go paint something... IP: 98.198.192.251
yesilovewine Member	posted 09-21-2012 06:52 AM We seem to be woefully short on good Merlot. Anyone have suggestions where we might try? I'm lazy today and didn't want to thread search.... IP: 76.182.4.159

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