Our blind tasting game—without the tasting! Can you identify a wine just by reading its tasting note? We post real Wine Spectator reviews. You use clues such as color, aromas, flavors and structure to figure out the grape, age and origin. Good luck!
Tasting Note: Plush, rich and well-built, this generous red offers red currant, dusty mocha, bay leaf and savory herb flavors. Finishes with polished tannins.
And the answer is...
Variety
Our generous red wine is rich and plush with polished tannins and red currant, mocha and herb notes. Let’s figure out what it is!
We can begin by eliminating Gamay, which tends to make lighter-bodied red wines with distinctive floral notes and lower levels of tannins.
A Touriga Nacional could show our wine’s plush tannins and richness; unfortunately, we would also expect blue fruit notes from one of these wines. This grape has to go too.
Blaufränkisch can make wines with higher levels of tannins and currant and mocha notes, but these are frequently joined by a distinctive pepper accent. This grape doesn’t sound quite right either.
A Petite Sirah might display our wine’s richness and mocha notes too, but our wine’s plush and polished tannins don’t quite match the characteristically gripping tannins of Petite Sirah. Maybe another grape works better?
Merlot often makes rich red wines with plush, polished tannins and red fruit and herb notes. This sounds closest to the mark.
This wine is a Merlot.
Country or Region of Origin
Merlot is an international grape, but you won’t find much of it growing in Portugal or Austria. Relatively speaking, Argentina is a more significant country for Merlot; but when it comes to Argentina, you’re more likely to find Merlot in red blends than in varietal wines. France, where the grape likely originates, is one of Merlot’s primary footholds. Here, winemakers frequently make versions less focused on richness than on Merlot’s mineral and savory qualities. This contrasts with Merlots from California, which tend to be richer with plusher body and tannins. California Merlot is on the money here.
This Merlot is from California.
Appellation
We know that our Merlot is from California, so we can eliminate Portugal’s Dão, France’s Morgon, Argentina’s Paraje Altamira and Austria’s Wien. This leaves us with two California options: Petaluma Gap and Stags Leap District. Red wines are definitely made in Sonoma’s Petaluma Gap, generally from Pinot Noir and Syrah, but not Merlot. Meanwhile, farther north in Napa Valley, the Stags Leap District is an appellation well-known both for Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wines. We have a clear choice.
This Merlot is from Stags Leap District.
Age
Our Merlot isn’t showing any characteristic signs of age, such as dried fruit, leather or mushroom notes. Bearing in mind that California wineries tend to age their Merlots for at least a year before release, let’s look at the Golden State’s recent vintages to figure out our wine’s age. California experienced drought in 2021; that year’s Merlots tend to be rich and plush with red fruit, coffee, chocolate and savory herb notes. Conditions were also dry in 2020, a year during which California wineries were affected by wildfires; that vintage’s Merlots are often precise and on the leaner side, with spice and anise notes. In 2019, a wet spring was followed by a hot summer, and that year’s Merlots are more opulent with cedar, dusty fruit and mineral notes. Of this group, 2021’s Merlots sound closest to the mark.
This Merlot is from the 2021 vintage, making it three years old.
Wine
This is the Rutherford Hill Merlot Stags Leap District 2021, which scored 94 points in the Sept. 30, 2024, issue of Wine Spectator. It retails for $75, and 365 cases were made. For more on California Merlot, read senior editor Tim Fish’s tasting report, "Merlot Meets the Moment," in the Nov. 30, 2024, issue.
—Collin Dreizen, assistant managing editor
