Wow, I’m really behind. We finished this wine more than a week ago. Then we immediately jetted off to Napa for a long weekend to celebrate our seventh wedding anniversary. (And we took the kids!). Given that I’ve tried at least three dozen other wines since I had this wine, and endured one of the worst colds I’ve had in years (complete with laryngitis) this is going to be brief and almost assuredly less interesting than if I had written this post within 48 hours of drinking the wine as usual.

So... this merlot from Seven Hills was very purple with ruby edges. The nose was full of cherries as well as oak. It was very fruity, like jam. It was very easy to drink, and was not as fruity as I had expected given the nose. The toasted oak flavor was present, but not overwhelming. I also tasted blackberry and the slight bitterness of coffee. Overall, a good wine. Despite its less than stellar reputation recently (thanks, Sideways), I find that I quite enjoy merlot.

The Score: ★ ★ ★