TN Selby Napa Merlot '00 adjunct to "Sideways

Make mine Merlot! With the Merlot discussion raging under the "Sideways," the movie, thread, I grabbed a bottle of Selby Napa (I mis-stated Sonoma in the above thread) Merlot 2000. According to Sue Selby, this wine is aged in both French and American oak, and is :... age worthy for a decade, or more... " If that is correct, and I have no reason to doubt it, I'm tasting this puppy at about the half-way point in that cellar-life. The stated source (Web) is the Stagecoach Vineyard, Napa. It is listed as having 88% Merlot, 2% CS (Lyon Vineyard Alexander Valley) & 10% Cab Franc (no location stated). It has a listed alcohol level of 13.9% bv.

Dark purple with a tinge of browning, almost opaque, this appears to be a highly extracted Merlot. The meniscus is ruby-garnet with the slightest clear edge. The nose is almost exclusively dark cherry, with cardamom, and a bit of blackberry and eucalyptus, plus a tiny note that I cannot place. After a few minutes in the glbutt, I get some earth, and maybe just a hint of "barnyard," but so slight that I do not find fault with it, plus a bit of tobacco and old worn cedar. (I seem to recall someone doing a very funny set of tastes-aromas that featured such terms as, "well-worn violin case," and the "sharps keys from a baby-grand piano... " well, I am detecting that violin case!) After about 30 minutes, the fruit is fading, replaced by cedar. The palette is almost all dark cherry, with cardamom and some sweet vanilla on the retro- nasal. I buttume that the vanilla is from the American Oak in part of the aging. It is just noticeable, and I do not find this a fault to any extent. The tannins are smooth and well incorporated into the total taste profile. Even on the second glbutt, my tongue is still NOT sticking to the roof of my mouth (though my typing might suffer!) As the eye belies, this IS a concentrated, extracted wine – almost a Merlot which thinks it is a Zinfandel. The mouth feel is very smooth, almost viscous, and the finish is quite long.

I've had several dinners with Sue Selby, but do not recall this wine having been served at any of them. The lineup has usually been her Chards, PN's and Zins. The vinification is listed as: "Extended maceration for six weeks. Aged in 40% new French Oak; 60% American Oak for 18-20 months, unfiltered." I guess that it IS an extracted, concentrated wine. I did not find any info as to whether there is any malolactic fermentation. I buttume there is, but do not know.

Though there is little that would be clbuttified as "subtle" about this Merlot, and the fruit is its biggest attribute, I like it. It has so much character, compared to most of the insipid wine that has Merlot on the bottle. Unfortunately, I have yet to sample anything from France, or Italy, "labeled" Merlot, or 90% of the US Merlots that I really like, would buy, or order in a restaurant. While this is more fruit-driven than all the Pomerols, and some of the St-Émilion, that I have had the pleasure of tasting, I find it a very, very pleasant wine. I'd pair it with grilled beef, without too much seasoning. While the Selby Web site states chocolate in the flavor profile, I could not find it. One pairing that I like, is "good" Merlot with chocolate (some milk content) with raspberry compote. I think this wine might be too much to the dark fruit end of the spectrum for that. As Sue Selby was a winemaker with Rabbit Ridge, doing several award winning Zins, I think she brings that grape's characteristics to this Merlot. It might not be everyone's cup-o-tea, but wish I had more of this in the cellar.

Initial serving temp 55 F, Riedel Vinium Cab-Bdx glbutt. I will add this one to my Duckhorn, Beringer-Howell Mountain, Groth, Joseph Phelps, and a few others. Maybe to "masculine" and concentrated for some, but I like it!

Hunt