Rob's "Wine of the Week" Archives
So here is my wine review for the week of August 18th...
PINE RIDGE CRIMSON CREEK MERLOT 2005
Description: Founded in 1978, Pine Ridge sits in Napa Valley and produces merlots, cabs, a malbec, some chardonnay and a few quirky wines each year. It is far from one of Napa’s premiere wineries, but it also is no hack winery like Fetzer.
How and when I drank it: Saturday afternoon August 9th at Paul Martin’s American Bistro in Roseville, CA.
How to get it: Pine Ridge is a mid-level Napa Valley producer attempting to produce quality bottles of wine in the affordable range of $20-30. Therefore, many grocery stores, most Bev-mos and some warehouse stores carry it. It is also available on-line through the winery’s website.
How Much: At Paul Martin’s, they get about $19 per glass, the winery sells a bottle for $32.
My Thoughts: Initially this wine tastes like a tight merlot that simply needs time to balance out and become luscious. After 2 glasses and an hour of breathing, I came to the conclusion that this wine is slightly unbalanced and perhaps un-savable. The more the wine lingers, the more chalky the finish becomes as the overall wine takes on a very dry, unpleasant finish. While the flavors remain consistent and fairly pleasant (dark berry, dark chocolate), there are no balancing flavors of vanilla or cinnamon and the overall tone of the wine becomes too dark and tannic.
Overall Score: A great merlot should be balanced and contain a lot less bite than a cabernet. Merlot also traditionally relies more on fruit than nuance, thus making this wine an abject failure on all levels. There are far better bottles of merlot for half the price. 1 vine.
PINE RIDGE CRIMSON CREEK MERLOT 2005 = 
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