This wine was given an 89 rating by the Wine Spectator (reviewer(s) unknown) in 2007. Waterbrook Melange 2005 is made by Eric Rindal and the Waterbrook Winery is located in Touchet, Washington in the Columbia Valley AVA. It is called Melange because it is a blend of 5 varietals including 40% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Sangiovese, 7% Cabernet Franc,
3% Syrah.
Color: deep garnet with a light magenta rim.
Nose: every sniff carried a different aroma:
1st:chalk 2nd: spicy oak 3rd: black fruit ie; black plum, blackberry, black cherry cola 4th: leather 5th: Dr. Pepper! This is how all of the aromas come together... nice complexity...
Mouthfeel: cherry/pomegranate/leather finish with a medium plus linger.
What is this wine lacking that the Wine Spectator could only bestow an 89 upon it? It has balance, acidity, supple tannins. It is not an oaky fruit bomb (thank god). It is more subtle and smooth. Does it not represent the terroir of the Columbia Valley? Are the 5 varietals not as well-blended as they could be? I am looking forward to addressing these and other issues in rating a wine during our blind tasting of 89 point wines in the Twitter Taste Live event coming up on December 13th www.twittertastelive.com For a better idea of how this will work visit http://www.lusciouslushes.com
This is one of the best under $10 wines I have reviewed. It is lovely and satisfying. Well, I am giving it a 90 so there, WS!
BrixChicks chronicles our adventures in wine, food and travel from Alameda to Zagreb. Thanks for reading!
7 comments:
$10? And sounds yum to boot? Bargain! I had to put this on the Project 89 blog for you! Thanks!
Is it possible that the additional aging over the last year (WS reviewed it in 2007, and you're tasting it almost at the end of 2008) made the difference?? Just curious.
Interesting point. I know for some things I decant and the wine at Hour 1, Hour 2 and Hour 5 makes HUGE a difference, so likely a year does make a difference, too
Liza, I left you a comment on the 89 Project regarding this wine. Waterbrook Melange is my go-to-wine. Affordable and always consistently good. Also, convenient since the Waterbrook Tasting room is located downtown Walla Walla.
Cheers,
C~
THanks, Catie! We are dying to get to Walla Walla as soon as its thawed enough to drive from Boise!
Liza, Desi and Catie:
Thanks for reading my review of this awesome wine. I just bought 2 more bottles:)
Liza, I have seen your one point complaint(WS)89 vs(Your)90 scoring of Waterbrook Melange 2005, your love of Ridge Wines, and I thought that maybe you could help explain the far greater disparity of WS scoring of Ridge Pagani Ranch 2007 Zinfandel. Help! Please! My review is at:
http://nhwineman.blogspot.com/2011/06/ridge-pagani-2007-zinfandel.html?showComment=1307405048821#c4811748213837907237
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