2004 Trinchero Family Merlot

If you ever saw the movie Sideways, you will remember that one of the main characters (Miles) had an absolute adversion to all things merlot.  To a large part I tend to relate to this, albeit for different reasons.  I just generally do not care for the typical bright, fruit forwardness of the grape particularly domestic ones.

So why is it that not too long ago when picking up some wines I decided to go out on a limb and pick up a bottle of this 2004 Trinchero Family?  Could it have been the clearance price of $6.97 (at Norman's Liquors in Bradenton)?  Most likely that was the main reason.  It could also be that I find we are drinking a lot of the same stuff and want to break that cycle.

I opened this without telling Allison what it was.  It is amazing at how easy it is to convince yourself that you do not like something if you know before hand that it is a grape that you generally do not care for (hey, I include myself in this category!).

We were both wowed by this wine.  First of all it is pretty full-bodied, but without the tannin that you find in cabernet based wines.  It was full of dark cherry fruit, with some light hints of licorice and mulberry.  The finish seemed to linger around the edges of the palate for what seemed like hours, giving subtle notes of chocolate.

I will definitely be looking to see if we can find some more of this next time I stop by.

Cheers!

By the way --- there is a bit of irony in the movie with Miles hating merlot... anybody know what it is?