2006 B Legacy Reserve Merlot

Masterful Merlot Makes Me Melt

2006 B Legacy Reserve Merlot

I’ve reviewed a few merlots, though most have been in meritage blends or as part of what is officially a cabernet sauvignon. Of the wines that are 100% (or, at least, predominantly) merlot that I have reviewed, the verdicts ranged from D to B+.

I’m not the biggest merlot fan on the planet, this is something I’ve said numerous times. However, I loathe no variety, and am always looking for the merlot to turn me back to the grape.1 I say “back” because the first red wine I drank with any regularity2 was merlot. I drank a lot of it, though not with much discretion.

But I digress. The fact of the matter is, I think I found that merlot. I think I found a wine made of 100% merlot grapes, from Napa, no less,3 that has gotten me truly excited about merlot in general again.

Classique des Classiques

This may end up meaning I’m disappointed a lot as I drink merlots that don’t stand up to this one, but c’est la vie.

So what can you expect from the 2006 B Legacy Reserve Merlot from Bolen Family Estates? A lot. In the glass, the juice is gorgeous, shimmering slightly from ruby red at the core, to an only-slightly-lighter cardinal red on the edges.

The nose is subtle, and although the alcohol content is relatively high,4 there is no residual heat on the nose to get in the way. In the way of what? Exceptional notes of stewed raspberry, dark cherries, and a hint of allspice. Very inviting, very nuanced.

The B Legacy doesn’t disappoint when you actually go to drink it. It’s medium bodied, with great structure and balance. At first, the majority of the experience is rich, lush, fleshy fruit, a lot of plum and cranberry. Eventually, this wine tastes like Christmas. The cranberry is joined by hints of nutmeg and peppermint that just top off the experience.

It’s delicious wine, and very surprising for me.5 Only 120 cases of the 2006 were made, and as you ought to expect given that’s the case, it’s not cheap at $60 per bottle. It is, however, worth it.

Verdict: 94/100

(photo: surreptitiously, and with all apologies, stolen from Bolen Family Estates’ website.)

Footnotes

  1. I’m sure Chateau Petrus would do it, but I don’t happen to have $400 on me… ↩
  2. In my—ahem—”early” 20s ↩
  3. The Oak Knoll District, a personal favorite, to be exact ↩
  4. Forgive me, everyone, for going off memory only here, but I believe it was above 14% ↩
  5. Being, as I am, no great lover of merlot ↩

2008 Trefethen Viognier

A Sweet But Light White. The Perfect Summer Wine?

I remember my first viognier.

I was at the Walnut Creek Art and Wine Festival, probably in 2005 or 2006. I love the event. My little suburban town puts on a mean festival. And by mean, I don’t actually mean mean, of course. But there is wine, and food, and art, and music, and little rides for the kids, and classic cars, and…

Sorry.

Anyway, at one of these events, a few years ago, I was just getting over my “real wine drinkers drink red wine” bullshit phase, and exploring some whites. I already knew I preferred sauvignon blanc to chardonnay, and I loved pinot grigio. But here’s this grape I’ve never even heard of. A grape I have trouble pronouncing… “viognier.”

At any rate, I liked it, if with reservations. The sweet, floral, herbacious experience was a positive one, overall.

Fast forward to December, 2009.

On a trip to Trefethen Family Vineyards to do a little tasting, I chose their 2008 Viognier to include on my make-your-own-tasting-flight (one of the most interesting parts of the Trefethen tasting experience). Glad I did.

In the glass, the wine is almost completely clear. It’s a very, very light shade of barely-yellow. Hold that up next to a full-bodied Chardonnay, and you’d swear the viognier was actually water. One sniff will dispel this thought, however: it smells like a wonderful flower garden, like grass and geraniums. Also, like lightly honeyed fruit. Not the sweet, sacchrine scent of a dessert wine; it’s much more subtle than all that.

On the palate are pleasant floral notes mixed with apricots–definitely apricots–and some light herbs. All in all, this is an incredibly pleasant wine. I may have enjoyed it in the heart of the December chill, but I immediately thought of sipping this while grilling up some chicken or fish in the heat of July.

Verdict: A-

2006 Trefethen Cabernet Franc

The Cab Franc That Started It All, For Me At Least

I started drinking wine in 2000 (legally, anyhow. ahem.)… but I really didn’t branch out for years. I drank almost exclusively Merlot, a little Cabernet Sauvignon here and there, and then I discovered Pinot Noir.

Blah blah blah, years pass where I believe Pinot Noir is all there is to wine.

On a trip to Napa Valley’s Oak Knoll / Stag’s Leap / Yountville areas several years back, some friends insisted that we stop at Trefethen Family Vineyards, a place I’d not only never been to, but that I’d never heard of.

“Oh, you’ll have to try the Cab Franc,” I was told.

The Cab Whatnow? I thought “Cabernet” and “Sauvignon” were inseparable, like Tango & Cash. Little did I know.

I’m not sure which vintage of the Trefethen Cabernet Franc I first tried on that fateful trip (I want to say the 2002 or 2003), but this 2006 met my nostalgic expectations. That simply isn’t easy.

The wine is a very deep ruby red, but still shows off a real red, not purple or “black” look. The nose shows a hint of red raspberry, but the overwhelming notes are of a more rustic nature. Coffee, chocolate, and tobacco notes dance around the glass.

There isn’t a lot of fruit on the palate. The Franc entices with a dry tightness that I liked a lot. The major flavor notes were the tobacco from the nose, and a black pepper spice that threatened to overwhelm, but, well, didn’t. Freakin’ awesome after all these years.

Verdict: A-