Walnut Crest Merlot 2004
April 18, 2006 – 4:44 pm
I spent a few nights last week drinking the 2004 vintage of the Walnut Crest Merlot over dinner. Walnut Crest is one of the wines offered in the 5 cent sale at BevMo. In case you don’t have a BevMo near you or haven’t heard of the 5 cent sale, you buy a bottle of wine at some specified price, and the second bottle of that same wine costs 5 cents. The regular price of the Walnut Crest wines (I saw the merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and chardonnay) is $5.49, so two bottles of any one of those varietals is $5.54.
The first night I had it, I found the Walnut Crest to have a strongly alcoholic nose. I really couldn’t identify anything else other than the alcohol. The color was a dark ruby or garnet color. The Walnut Crest Merlot is light-to-medium bodied and has a slightly sweet taste, but it was a little rough on the swallow. The wine was definitely enjoyable, but there was nothing about that first night of drinking it that would send me rushing back to BevMo for more.
The second night was noticeably different than the first. I suppose having a chance to soften a bit after having been opened the previous day was helpful, as the nose was much less alcoholic. I would describe scents of plum and black cherry, but I probably describe most red wines that way. This merlot was not overly fruity, which may be a plus or a minus depending on what you like in your merlots.
On the third night, the wine was softer still. It started to lose some of its character as the strength from the alcohol began to vanish. I still enjoyed the Walnut Crest on the third night, but the best of the three nights had to be the second, which makes me think that a little decanting on the first night would have given me exactly what I was looking for.
I brought the second bottle over to Greg’s place on Saturday night. Greg, Adam, and I ended up splitting it, and I felt the second bottle was much less abrasive upon opening than the first. I’m not sure that’s entirely fair, though, since we had just polished off a bottle of the Fife Cabernet Sauvignon before that, so my senses might have been dulled a bit relative to when I had the Walnut Crest by myself.
I would imagine there are better merlots at the sub-$6 per bottle range, but this is not a bad one at all.
2 Responses to “Walnut Crest Merlot 2004”
If anything, the cab before the merlot would have made you like it (the merlot) less… unless that cab was solid tannin.
I’ll find something OK, unless I’ve had something better before it or after it.
The next morning is always tell-tale too. Poorly balanced wines give me a headache and grumpy demenor the next day, without fail. Unbalanced does not mean the don’t taste good unfortunately.
Thanks for your objective observations here.
Chris.
By Chris on May 2, 2006
Thanks for stopping by Chris. I think you’re right about the fact that having the cabernet first maybe should have made me like the merlot less. I don’t think the cabernet was especially tannic, but I’m generally a fan of the softer reds, so it could have made me feel like the merlot was a little more approachable.
Fortunately I haven’t had the headache/demeanor issues you mention. And trust me, it’s not because I’m drinking great wine. I really only drink inexpensive wine, so my body has probably decided not to put up too much of a fight. As soon as it gets a taste of the good stuff, I’m hosed.
By jjk on May 2, 2006