Deerfield Merlot Cuvee 2004

The Wooden Guys take the gratuitous over-use of wood personally.

Deerfield Ranch Winery
2004 Merlot Cuvee
North Coast
75% Merlot
10% Cabernet Sauvignon
7% Sangiovese
5% Malbec
3% Cabernet Franc
Alcohol 14.2%

From the bottlenotes:

Winemaking is a combination of art and science, cooking and chemistry. Like a memorable meal, it's first about the quality of the ingredients and then about interplay of flavors, textures and techniques. Our merlot cuvee is all this in the glass. Six of our favorite vineyards supplied the grapes. Our winemaking focused the individuality of each varietal. Long barrel aging gave them texture. The blend, done by taste, married them into a harmonious, fruit flavored sensation, each element playing on the other, nothing out of place, every sip memorable. We produced 2,000 cases.

Sante'

Night One

Black fruit, red fruit, fruit fruit fruit. Lots of fruit up in your snoot. Not just fruit, there's lots of wood. Do you like wood? Some wood is good. Too much wood, though can be bad. Too much wood, it makes me sad. Fruit and wood and something more. What's that more down in the core? Tobacco from the cabernet franc, cabernet franc added to the tank. It's time to drink, to drink and think. Will it be great or will it stink?

I sipped and tripped on all the oak, so much oak it's like a joke. Sure theres's fruit, it's plenty sweet, so very sweet I beat retreat. Vanilla, brown sugar, cherries and wood, too much too much is just not good.

Am I being fair or just trying to rhyme? I can rhyme at any time. Just watch me go- "blow, Joe, though, fro." It's really the wine. I thought you should know.

Will this be better on Night Two? Stick with me, my faithful crew.

Night Two

Wood defeats fruit.

Sticky vanilla oak juice.

Too much is too little.