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Rob's "Wine of the Week" Archives

So here is my wine review for the week of February 13th, 2006...

NICKEL AND NICKEL MERLOT HARRIS VINEYARD 2003

Description: Nickel & Nickel is the exclusive red wine house sister to the highly acclaimed and often overrated Far Niente Winery. After a run of amazing wines, N&N hit a rough spot with the 2002 vintage, receiving luke warm reviews from many major wine critics, including me.

How to Get it: I don't see N&N many places. It is readily available through the winery, which is an appointment only destination in Napa.

How Much: It's about $50 per bottle.

My Thoughts: The 2003 reds are just starting to seep out and they seem to resemble the 1998 vintage in this way; overall the vintage may be slightly off, but there will be some great wines to be had if you pick them right. This is a surprisingly good, full, smooth merlot for being so young and new. It drinks easy, with a unique but pleasant flavor of cinnamon somewhere in the background. As with any good merlot it presents the expected oak, vanilla and cherry flavors as a base.


Overall Score: The only knock against this wine is the price, which is a little haughty for a merlot of almost any stature. Nickel & Nickel have produced some very good merlots lately however and this is one of them. It's not as good as the Del Dotto I reviewed in December, but it's close. For red wine drinkers that can't handle cabs, this is a great big wine for you. 4 vines.

NICKEL AND NICKEL MERLOT 2003 =