Tasting- Blackstone Merlot

Name: Blackstone Merlot 

Grape: Merlot 

Country of origin: USA

Region: California 

Vintage year 2016

Cost about 9$

The winery describes this wine ​​as rich with blackberry, plum, and raspberry flavors with hints of vanilla and toasted French bread. I most definitely tasted the rich plum and blackberry flavors, but not so much the vanilla and toasted French Bread. 

According to page 131 of Wine Folly, a Merlot is filled with cherry, plum, chocolate, dried herbs and vanilla flavors. This wine was bursting with plum flavors with a hint of chocolate and cherry. While I did not taste the vanilla I did taste a bit of dried herb, though not much. This is a full red dessert wine that should be decanted for 30 minutes, which my roommate and I neglected to do. 

Overall, I liked this wine. It was a full bodied wine with oak tannins, making this a rich tasting wine, which is not typically my preference. However, I enjoyed the plum flavors that were complemented by the taste of chocolate and cherry. I also enjoyed the mild sweetness that this wine had to offer, and the bitter taste was a nice change of pace from the sweet white wines I usually drink. Despite my generally positive experience tasting this wine, I most likely would not repurchase it. 

I did not try this wine with food.