Merlot: The SLO Pourers Have it Handled!

We’ve all heard the negative under-the-breath comments and seen the eye rolls when somebody mentions “Merlot”. Why is this? Maybe it started in the movie “Sideways”, where on a quest for good Pinot Noir on the Central Coast, the main characters put down Merlot at every turn. Maybe the bad vibes started to rumble when the majority of Merlots were being mass-produced and not hand-crafted.  Who knows, but somewhere along the line, Merlot got a bad wrap and the SLO Pourers were out to unravel the mystery and tear down the walls of prejudice!

Who are SLO Pourers, and Why Merlot?

The SLO Pourers is a group founded right here in Paso Robles aimed at educating people about wine through discussion, tasting, and hands-on experiences. On a pretty regular basis, they pick a single variety, gather the troops and taste through several bottles of that variety….but the key is that they taste the wines blind! Yes, BLIND! What better way to rid your palates of prejudice and pre-conceived notions than to smell, sip, and savor what’s in your glass without knowing what’s on the label? Okay, yes, you know what the variety is, but you have no idea what vintage it is, what region it’s from, or which winery put it in the bottle.

This particular Merlot tasting was graciously hosted by San Antonio Winery in Paso Robles…they greeted us with a little bit of their sparkling wine, then let us taste some of their Merlots as a nice little teaser before moving into the blind tasting. We also had the great privilege of eating delicious, Merlot-friendly foods paired with our wines, courtesy of local Chef, Nanette Smalley. We had some great Merlots, and some not-so-great Merlots, but we worked our way through each one, smelling, sipping, and discussing until we each had come to peace with our inner Merlot drinker.

Here’s a little “taste” of what our evening looked like, with a little hook for next time:

(Wine voting results below)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F45jWJeg1D4[/youtube]

Wines were rated on a 30-point scale as follows:

• Bouquet rated 1-10
• Mouthfeel/palate rated 1-10
• Finish rated 1-10
• The TOTAL of all three of the above ratings was the wines final score.

After all wines were tasted and voted upon, they were revealed. BELOW ARE THE RESULTS:

WINNER #1: 

2007 Francis Ford Coppola Director’s, Sonoma County CA

13.5% Alc. by Vol

$18

SECOND PLACE # 2: TIED

2007 Blackstone Reserve, Sonoma County CA

14.5% Alc. by Vol

$21

SECOND PLACE # 2: TIED

2008 Black Stallion Winery, Napa Valley CA14.5% Alc. by Vol

$26

THIRD PLACE #3:

2006 Maddalena, Paso Robles, CA14.5% Alc. by Vol

$15.95

FOURTH PLACE #4

2008 Bargetto, Santa Cruz Mountains, CA

14.9% Alc. by Vol

$30

FIFTH Place # 5

2010 Pull (Broken Earth), Paso Robles CA

13.5% Alc. by Vol

$18

SIXTH Place # 6

 2009 Two Vines, Columbia Crest WA

13.5% Alc. by Vol

$6.99