Style Heavy red Old World Country Italy Price $10
Vintage tasted 2008 Grapes Merlot

Overview You might never have thought of Southern Italy as great Merlot country, but maybe this wine will change your mind. In sharp contrast to many New World Merlots, which can be overly fruity and uninteresting, this one has a strong hit of earthiness and barnyard (though there’s plenty of fruit as well). Again and again our blind tasters kept coming up with words like elegant to describe it.

Nose There’s black fruit, some cherry, and an aroma one blind taster compared to wet earth.

Mouth Smooth and “elegant,” it has fruit, earth, and herbs. One blind taster also identified what she called ”Christmas-spice flavors.”