“If anyone orders Merlot I am leaving. I
am not drinking (expletive) Merlot! It
tastes like the back of a (expletive) L.A. school bus. Now they probably didn't
de-stem, hoping for some semblance of concentration, crushed it up with leaves
and mice, and then wound up with this rancid tar and turpentine (expletive).” ….. “Miles
Raymond” played by Paul Giamatti in the film “Sideways”.
I
may be a party of one, but there was a lot about this film I didn’t like. Still
don’t. I remained one of the few who continued
to appreciate Merlot. The grape itself, however, did suffer. Sales of Merlot plummeted, and this the
result of such a sophisticated oenophile that after not tasting wine or appreciating
its aromas, instead chugged down samples of it in the tasting room, grabbed a
bottle, filled his glass, fought over it with the server and then drank from
the spit bucket. Ironically,
Miles’ (the Yoda of viticulture) most prized bottle of wine was a 1961 Château Cheval Blanc which itself is a
blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, another grape he
didn’t like.
Before any of
that, we’re treated to the scene in which Miles, accompanied by his
philandering friend, is put up at his mother’s house (a widow) and he favors
her by stealing money from her so as to finance his drinking binge. And somehow, people viewing this film stopped
buying Merlot en masse. The market
crashed, vines were ripped out, fortunes lost and an art was almost destroyed.
I bought more.
And recently
found this stowaway bottle in the racks – a 2008. I was preparing dinner: braised pork spare
ribs, Parmesan crusted potatoes and grilled vegetables. Yes, I know – Pinot is made for pork and a
white can be twice as nice. But the sauce for the short ribs wanted more yet
not as much as a Cabernet. Besides,
“Sweetie” was joining me for dinner and prefers a “softer” wine when red. My only concern was that this Merlot, from
Napa, might be too jammy and fruit-forward for my tastes. I chose to disregard my concerns, respect the
preference of my guest and also not steal any money from her purse while she
wasn’t looking.
 |
| Grilled yellow squash, red pepper & carrot |
All choices
worked well.
 |
| Parmesan crusted potatoes |
Despite being
Napa fruit, the mesoclimate of the Grigsby vineyard in the Yountville sub-AVA,
on the benchland of the Vaca Mountains benefits from the cooling maritime breezes
off the San Francisco Bay. Temperatures are warm enough during the day to
produce perfectly ripe fruit, but cool enough in the evening to ensure
finesse. And it’s that finesse that
impressed me. Not jammy. Not a fruit bomb. Just symmetry and symbiosis. And it’s pure Merlot (99%) with 1% Cabernet
Sauvignon. Organically farmed grapes. Hand selected and harvested during the
cool evening hours.
It’s a “big”
wine, but soft and with tannins that are smooth and silky. Don’t open and pour. Like all things worth it (like my pork spare
ribs) it takes time. In this case, open
and pour will yield a wine with some sharp edges and grip. Decant and the fruit exposes itself. The tannins ease. Sweet black cherry, ripe plum, red current
and black raspberry intermingle on the palate with cedar and spice box, oak and
caramel. But it’s how the fruit
evidences itself that impresses. Restrained, it is elegant, but not shy. The tip-off to this experience came in the light
aromatics: black cherry, red current and black raspberry but melded with earthy
notes; earthy notes that are more often appreciated in “old world” wines. Rocca seems to have taken the best of each
style and married them. A fruity (but
restrained) entry backed by oak and countered by spot-on grip develops cola and
black olive notes (fig?) and cedar on a long finish with precise acidity. This Merlot is rich, but focused and
well-structured. “Sweetie” and I were
both so pleased with the wine, there was no need for a spit bucket (sorry,
Miles).
 |
| Pork Short Ribs |
Cheers!
………………Jim
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TECH SPECS AND ETCETERA
Rocca Family
Vineyards http://www.roccawines.com/
Varietals: 99% Merlot, 1%
Cabernet Sauvignon
Harvested By Hand
Vineyard: Grigsby, 100%
Farming: Organic
Appellation: Yountville, Napa
Valley
Aging: 20 Months,
French barriques, 60% new
ALC: 15.1% ,
this vintage*
ARP: $50-$60
U.S.
·
May vary, depending upon BRIX at
harvest. Other vintages 14.9 ABV.
Winemaker: Paul Colantuoni
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