Cheap dry red wine10/18/2023 The 2017 Realm The Tempest is so complex, it makes reading Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” as easy as reading a children’s book by Mo Willems. Led by merlot grapes, but flanked by cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and petit verdot, it’s a bottle that encapsulates the potential of Napa’s famed Stags Leap District and shows how Beckstoffer grapes in the right hands yield remarkable wines. In this Bordeaux-inspired bottle of perfection, Realm Cellars winemaker Benoit Touquette culled together a perfect storm of grape varieties, making The Tempest a wine to be reckoned with. Tasting Notes: Blueberry, Blackberry, Black Cherry, Touch of Violets and Smoke.Here is a list of outstanding merlot wines to drink on really any occasion. Picking the best merlot requires tasting hundreds of them, which I have painstakingly done for years, and in the end, the complex 2017 Realm The Tempest stood out among the rest. The goal, Touquette says, is to “always have minimal intervention in the winery,” so getting it right in the vineyard, making sure the berries are compact, and full of flavor, is the not-so-simple trick of making exceptional merlot. is very sensitive to heat,” he says, “so first we have to control the berry size,” which is done by assessing the risk of heat, and canopy management. “If you let the berries become too big,” he explains, “or if you don’t control the water, you have to watch out. “It’s merlot, you crazy fool!”įrench-born winemaker Benoit Touquette, the producer of my Best Overall merlot pick, says that the trick to making utterly lip-smacking merlot is to get it right in the vineyard. “No!” someone will shout from the rafters. It is the Queen’s Gambit, the tick before the tock, and in the right hands it is a chameleon: ”Is this a fine cabernet?” it will have you saying. Merlot is the king behind the king (if you still consider cabernet sauvignon the reigning king). They belong in your cellar and if you miss out you are really missing out.” I’ll say it,” said Giglio, “Cabernet takes a backseat to these modern merlots. I witnessed one of the great wine writers of our time, Anthony Giglio, giving an impassioned closing speech during a merlot seminar, in which he stated that iconic merlot vineyards are “now in their prime and making wines that are more approachable than cabernet but with cabernet structure to go the long haul. Lucky for you, that reputation for merlot is hogwash. Still, Merlot has a reputation for being a wine for first-time wine drinkers a wine with a light touch a starter wine of sorts. Originating in the Bordeaux region of France, merlot is classically known for producing a softer, fleshier wine than its outsized counterpoint, cabernet sauvignon, which is often blended with merlot because the merlot softens the cabernet. You may not realize it, but wine made from merlot grapes is probably your favorite wine.
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