Oyster Bay, Merlot, 2022, Hawks Bay, New Zealand
A big producer, Oyster Bay is a supermarket staple in their wine aisle. They produce decent wine at a fair price and this Merlot is no exception. A dry red wine with decent red fruit flavours. A little one dimensional in its characteristic delivery but at under £10 a bottle what do you expect.
Watarra Ridge, Merlot, South East Australia, Australia
This reminds me of when Australian Merlot was cheap and cheerful, well this is cheap but not really cheerful. The aromas seem volatile, body is thin, some flavours of redcurrant but not a pleasant experience. At £5 a bottle it’s cheap, but avoid.
Mascota, Unanime, Merlot, 2018, Mendoza, Argentina
Argentinian makes a fantastic wine and this Merlot from Mascota is quite divine. Dry with plenty of red fruit with blueberry as well, chocolate and black pepper under pin the flavours. I wouldn’t say it was particularly complex but there’s definitely good structure here and a very long finish which makes this a superb wine for approximately £15 a bottle.
Pago De Orazu , 2016, Spain.
Made with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo this red from Spain got a commended at the Decanter international wine awards in 2020, I think they’re missing something.
Aromas of red fruit and oak with a hint of smokiness. It’s a dry wine with tannings easy drinking the favours maybe a little lacking but it’s very easy drinking and for a drinker on a summer’s day this is pretty good.
It’s €18 which is the biggest problem I have with it, it’s too much money for what it is. It’s good, it’s just not €18 good.
La Méridionale, Merlot, Syrah, Languedoc, France
The South of France produces lots of Merlot and Syrah red wines and this one from La Méridionale is typical.
Blackberry, plum and cherry and you primary flavours for this pretty simple but drinkable red. Its very Dry, has decent enough body and depth of flavour with tannins that are a little rough and pronounced. Its not bad but its a food wine. pair it with steak or a burger and it will go down very well. At £7 a bottle its decent value too.
The red blend of Syrah, Merlot and Xinomavro from Alpha Estate in Greece is a rather decent red wine.
A dry, reasonable light red it has aromas of red and black fruit with earthy and spice hints. The flavours are defined, plum, blackcurrant and cherry with oak notes, strong but not overpowering.
People rubbish wine thats not from the traditional wine areas but this shows that many non main stream wine countries can produce very good wine. The only downside is the price, EUR20 a bottle is a bit pricey.
Alpha Estate, SMX Red, 2017, Greece
South Africa does some really good Merlot and Shiraz and this blend brings some good qualities. That’s not a huge amount of aromas on this blend but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You do get flavours of raspberry and plum with more red fruit in there.
It’s a decent red just for drinking ?.
Crows Fountain, Shiraz, Merlot, 2018, South Africa
This Tali, Wild Swan Merlot from Chile is produced by I’ve been out that is a champion wildlife preservation and it is under £8 bottle from the co-op in the UK. It’s a pretty typical supermarket Merlot lots of fruit, plum, cherry and redcurrant with notes of blackberry and minerals. You can taste the heat of the Central Valley in the fruit. Low to medium tannins and reasonably dry. It’s easy drinking and cheap which sometimes what you need.
Yali, Wild Swan, Merlot, 2018, Chile
Chinese wine is not rubbish. Said it, drunk it and really liked it.
Ribena is what you smell, concentrated and with sweet tannins. Flavour is much less than the aroma, you get a little blackcurrant, but lots of dryness. Normally I would say this was simple and one dimensional. A cheap wine that’s best as the last bottle of a party BUT the length is reasonable and the smell is great and given that its 7 years old its OK.
This would have best at 4 years ago when it would have been vibrant in colour and just fruity. If the chinese can do this in the few years they have been producing then in 10 years time the french had better watch out.
Chateau Ningxia Saint Louis Ding, Farsight, Merlot 2013, China
Aromas of red and black fruits hints of cherry. Flavours of red fruit and very dry. Balanced acidity and tannins but at about £25 a bottle it’s too pricey, then again most Swiss wines while good share the same problem.
Les Titans 2014 Merlot, Switzerland LP