Rob's "Wine of the Week" Archives
So here is my wine review for the week of September 15th...
PARADIGM MERLOT 2005
Description: Merlot was riding high as the red wine alternative for cab lovers in the late 90s and early this decade and as a result some fantastic merlots were being made in Napa Valley. Then came the horrific movie Sideways, which not only sucked as a film, but also led Americans like the lemmings they are, to drink Pinot Noir, a truly overrated and lame red wine. While the Pinot craze has predictably crashed completely, the affect on merlot remains. The boom of Syrah as the new “other red” has kept merlot on the back burner and made great merlots harder and harder to find.
When merlot mattered, it was fruitier, more accessible and approachable than the big, bold Napa Valley cabs. While the current Syrah boom is producing fantastic wines, Syrah still remains a little too dark and bold for some people (not me, of course, I am just looking out for you).
How and when I drank it: Monday afternoon August 25th at The Bistro Don Giovanni Restaurant in Napa, CA.
How to get it: Paradigm sells their wines on their website, and it is available at many wine specialty sites and stores, including most BevMos, and can even be spotted at some grocery stores occasionally.
How Much: The bottle is $45 from the winery.
My Thoughts: I ordered the bottle because I was hoping for a nice, soft easily drinkable red wine since at the time I still wasn’t sure what I would be having for dinner. What I got instead was a fairly big merlot, completer with a dry tannic bite at the end. The 2005 Paradigm includes just 5% Cab Franc, but it seems as though that 5% wins the battle. That doesn’t make it a bad wine, it makes it a mediocre merlot, however. The fruit flavors are ripe and dark, but the tannic finish that lingers on the tongue reminds one of a young cab more than a refined merlot.
Overall Score: I’d rather Paradigm cuts the merlot grapes in half, mixes in some cab grapes and adds a touch of syrah or sangiovese and make a great meritage blend. This was an okay bottle of wine, but not great, and at nearly $50 per bottle from the winery it’s overpriced for the quality.
PARADIGM MERLOT 2005 = 
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